Leadership vacuum crippling industrial policy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is right to celebrate Pakistan’s progress at the Indus Robotics and Autonomous Systems Expo 2026. Local drones, simulators and autonomous platforms on display are genuine achievements, and the government deserves credit for organising this event. Such expos give young innovators a stage, and they should happen far more often. One expo a year is not enough for a country trying to catch up in robotics and artificial intelligence. But an honest look tells us something the speeches often skip. Pakistan’s technology sector has largely grown because of private effort, not government funding. Young software engineers, startup founders, freelancers and university students have kept this sector alive, often without meaningful state support. Many built their skills through free online courses, self-funded projects and sheer persistence, not through government grants or well-funded labs. When government share of support has been minimal, it is unfair for credit to travel only upward. The youth of this country deserve real recognition, not just polite mentions in a prime ministerial address. If Pakistan genuinely wants technological independence, praise alone will not build it. Research budgets remain thin. Universities struggle with outdated labs and low funding, a problem raised repeatedly by academics themselves. Local innovators frequently move abroad, not because they lack patriotism, but because opportunities and funding are stronger elsewhere. Indigenous drone and simulator production is encouraging, but it cannot substitute for a broader national investment in research, education and startups. The government’s job now is to convert one successful expo into a lasting system. That means consistent funding for research institutions, easier access to capital for young tech entrepreneurs, and closer partnerships between universities and defence industries. It means holding such expos regularly, not as one-off showcases, but as part of a serious innovation calendar.

An eight-member medical board has found that Mir Raza Ali died from a gunshot wound to the back. The board also found several serious injuries on his body from before death. This discovery changes the direction of a case that has drawn wide attention. The report came after a court ordered his grave to be opened at Karachi’s Rehmanial Masjid Graveyard. Doctors found a small entry wound on his upper back. The bullet broke a rib, tore through the heart, and exited from the chest. Doctors also found blood collected under the skin. This shows the injury happened while he was still alive. The doctors found more injuries too. They found bruises on the skull, a broken nose bone, and swelling on the face. There was also a crack running along the back of the skull, filled with dried blood. Marks were found near the throat area as well, though decay in the body made some tests harder to complete. The board has not given a final cause of death yet. Doctors have sent skin, muscle, hair, and bone samples for further testing. This new report turns the case from a missing person search into a suspected murder investigation. The Sindh government deserves credit here. By backing a court-ordered exhumation and a full medical board review, it has given this case a real chance at truth and justice. This kind of careful, science-based approach is exactly what difficult cases like this need. But what we need is a clear and reliable system for postmortem examinations across the board. Every case deserves properly trained doctors, modern lab facilities, and independent oversight from the start. Delays and unclear reports only hurt victims and their families. The Sindh government should build on this case by setting fixed rules for exhumations and postmortems, so families never have to wait years for the truth.

Pakistan and Iran have once again promised to work more closely together. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Iranian counterpart Eskandar Momeni met in Islamabad and spoke about border security, fighting terrorism, stopping drug trafficking, and tackling illegal immigration and human trafficking. All of this sounds good on paper. But Pakistan has heard such promises before, and the real question is whether this meeting will lead to actual change on the ground. The Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan border region has long been a weak point for both countries. Smugglers, drug traffickers, and militant groups have used this stretch of land for years, often moving freely between borders that are poorly monitored. Simply agreeing that better coordination is needed is not enough. What Pakistan and Iran actually need is a clear plan, with deadlines and shared resources, to secure this border properly. Intelligence sharing only works if both sides act on the information they receive, not just discuss it in meetings. The timing of this visit also deserves attention. Tensions between the United States and Iran have grown sharper in recent days, with military exchanges raising fears about wider instability in the Middle East. In such a moment, Pakistan’s outreach to Iran is a sensible move. A stable and cooperative relationship with a neighbour that shares a long and sensitive border is simply good policy, regardless of what is happening between Iran and other countries. However, there is a risk that trade and economic cooperation will once again take a back seat to security talk. Pakistan and Iran have discussed expanding trade, transit, and agricultural cooperation many times in the past, yet actual trade volumes between the two countries remain far below their potential. If this relationship is to mean something for ordinary people, Pakistan must push harder to convert these diplomatic meetings into working trade routes, joint agricultural projects, and real economic opportunities.

Students in Pakistan have every right to be angry. They followed the rules, sat their exams honestly, and now they face a system that seems slow to answer basic questions. The Cambridge paper leak controversy should have been settled months ago. Instead, students are heading to protest outside the IBCC office in Islamabad because meetings keep getting postponed and answers keep getting delayed. The new forensic report from the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency makes this more urgent, not less. Investigators found no signs that the leaked video files were edited or faked. That is a serious finding. It means the leaks were likely real, even though the report could not say who was behind them. When such evidence exists, students deserve a clear response, not silence before results and vague promises after. Cambridge’s decision to pull out of a key meeting just before results were announced sends the wrong message. It looks like an attempt to avoid difficult questions rather than face them. Postponing accountability until after grades are released only deepens mistrust among students, parents and teachers. The core issue is fairness. Even if leaked material reached only a small number of students, those students may have gained an unfair advantage. Honest students who worked hard without any early access to questions could end up disadvantaged. This is not a small technical matter. It affects university admissions and futures. Schools and education authorities also share blame. Many stayed quiet when the leaks were first reported and only spoke up once public pressure grew. That is not good enough. Cambridge, IBCC and the government must treat this seriously. Students are not asking for favours. They are asking for transparency, fairness and a guarantee that this will not happen again.

The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court has voted to remove prosecutor Karim Khan. The vote came over sexual misconduct allegations. His legal team has confirmed the move and called it political. The vote happened on Friday. It came at a time when the ICC faces heavy pressure from the United States and Israel. This pressure grew after Khan issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant in 2024. This timing raises serious questions. Tayab Ali, head of Khan’s legal team, said a judicial panel had unanimously found no misconduct or breach of duty by Khan. Yet member states still voted him out. This decision does not follow the evidence. It does not follow the only judicial finding in the matter. That is unacceptable. Khan was removed by an executive vote while under US sanctions and while the court itself sat under enormous political pressure. He was never given a fair chance to be heard. A process built this way cannot claim to deliver justice. It looks like punishment for doing his job. Minute Mirror stands with Karim Khan on this point. An organisation meant to protect international law must not bend to pressure from powerful states. The ICC was built to hold leaders accountable, including leaders backed by strong allies. If prosecutors can be removed the moment they issue warrants against a protected ally, the court loses its purpose entirely. The ICC has failed Karim Khan. It failed to protect its own official from a process that ignored its own judges. It failed to explain why political timing lined up so closely with the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants. Removing him does not erase those warrants, since only ICC judges can withdraw them. But it damages trust in the court at the exact moment the world needed that trust most. Justice must never depend on who a defendant knows in Washington or Tel Aviv.

Medicine prices have spiralled out of control. The Pakistan Young Pharmacists Association has exposed numbers that should worry every citizen. A simple stomach medicine, Omeprazole, costs the government Rs1.7 per unit. The same medicine sells in the market for Rs67.85. That is an increase of nearly 4,000 percent. Other essential drugs for heart disease, depression, infections and diabetes show similar shocking increases. This is not a small problem. It is a national emergency. The government deregulated medicine prices in February 2024. That decision was meant to help the industry grow. Instead, it opened the door for companies to charge whatever they wish. Five multinational pharmaceutical companies have already left Pakistan. The country has lost billions of dollars as a result. Ordinary patients now pay the price, quite literally, for this policy failure. The allegations against the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan are serious. The association claims officials allowed substandard medical devices to enter the market. It claims this negligence has contributed to disease outbreaks. It claims officials accepted foreign trips as bribes. These are not small accusations. They demand a proper investigation, not silence. Pakistan also produces far too little medicine on its own. Only 500 pharmaceutical units operate in the country. No major new investment has arrived in twenty years. Meanwhile, production that once happened on Pakistani soil has moved to India. This leaves the country dependent on a neighbour it does not trust. The government cannot ignore this crisis any longer. Life saving medicines must remain affordable for ordinary families. Price controls need to return for essential drugs. Corrupt officials must face accountability. Local manufacturing must be encouraged through real investment.