Need for due process

Rising oil prices are becoming a global emergency, and the blame lies squarely on the actions of the United States, Israel, and their Gulf allies for initiating this ugly war. Crude oil prices are rising fast, and ordinary people everywhere will pay the price. This week, global oil benchmarks jumped to their highest levels in nearly two months. Some cargoes are now trading close to one hundred ten dollars a barrel. Dated Brent, the price used for most of the world’s oil, touched one hundred five dollars and seventy cents on Thursday. This is not a small change. When oil becomes expensive, everything else becomes expensive too. Transport costs rise. Food prices rise. Electricity bills rise. Factories pay more to run machines. Poor countries suffer the most because they cannot absorb these shocks. Rich countries feel the pain too, but developing nations face hunger, inflation, and unemployment on a much larger scale. The real question people should ask is simple. Why is this happening now. The answer points directly at the ongoing confrontation between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Tensions between these sides have pushed the region toward war. Gulf partners aligned with Washington have allowed this dangerous situation to continue instead of pushing for peace. Their silence and their support for aggressive policies have made the crisis worse. The world cannot afford this. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important routes for oil shipments. Roughly one fifth of the world’s oil passes through this narrow waterway. Threats to this route create fear across markets, and fear pushes prices higher even before real disruption happens. Kazakhstan’s export terminal on the Black Sea was also hit by drone attacks, cutting the country’s oil output nearly in half. This shows how connected today’s conflicts have become. War in one region shakes markets everywhere. The solution is not complicated. The fighting must stop. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open and safe for all shipping. Iran has suffered heavy losses from sanctions and military pressure, and fair compensation should be part of any lasting settlement. World leaders often speak about protecting the global economy. Now is the time to prove it. The United States, Israel, and their Gulf partners hold real power to de-escalate this crisis. They must choose diplomacy over confrontation, before ordinary families across the world are forced to pay for a war they did not start.

Pakistan and the United States have signed a new five-year agreement on higher education. The deal will run from 2026-27 to 2031-32. It brings back the Fulbright programme along with other important scholarships. This is good news for Pakistani students. The agreement covers Fulbright Master’s and PhD programmes. It also includes the Visiting Scholar Programme, the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Programme, and the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship. The plan aims to send 66 Pakistani PhD scholars to the United States over five years. Many more students can benefit from the other programmes too. This move deserves praise. Pakistan needs skilled people in every field. Science, technology, medicine, and education all need trained experts. When young Pakistanis study abroad, they learn new ideas and skills. If they return home, they can use this knowledge to help the country grow. The financial details show serious commitment. The Higher Education Commission will give at least $4.54 million every year. The total cost over five years will reach Rs6.48 billion. Selection will be based on merit only. There will be no quotas based on region or group. This is a fair approach and should be welcomed by everyone. However, appreciation alone is not enough. Pakistan must think beyond sending students abroad. The real test comes when these scholars return home. Sadly, many highly qualified Pakistanis struggle to find good jobs in their own country. Some end up doing work far below their qualification level. Others simply move abroad again because Pakistan does not offer them proper opportunities. This must change. The government should create clear career paths for returning scholars. Universities need more research funding and modern laboratories. Industries should be encouraged to hire local PhD holders instead of relying only on foreign consultants. Without such steps, the country risks losing its best minds all over again. The government should also expand this kind of agreement with other countries. More scholarships mean more opportunities for Pakistani youth. But every scholarship should come with a plan for what happens after graduation. Pakistan has invested in this agreement with hope. That hope will only turn into real progress if the country welcomes its scholars back with real jobs, real research support, and real respect for their hard-earned qualifications.

Rivers across the country are rising fast. Heavy monsoon rain, combined with water released from Indian dams upstream, has pushed combined river flows to 454,000 cusecs. The Indus is swelling at Tarbela, Kalabagh and Chashma. The Chenab is already at medium flood level at its main headworks. Officials warn that high flooding may hit the Chenab within hours, and the Jhelum is also expected to rise. Melting glaciers in the north, driven by unusually high temperatures in Skardu, add another layer of danger. The human cost is already visible. At least six people have died in Khyber district and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including a mother and her two children buried under a landslide in Kotli. In Landi Kotal, floodwaters swept away vehicles and killed three people. Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 12 people have died and 14 have been injured in the last 24 hours alone, five of them children. These numbers should alarm the nation, but they should not surprise it. Pakistan faces this same tragedy almost every monsoon season. Rivers swell, hillsides collapse, and families in low-lying villages pay the price. The problem is not only the rain. It is the gap between the warnings issued by the Flood Forecasting Division and the action taken on the ground before disaster strikes. Pre-flood safety measures save more lives than any rescue operation after the fact. Families living near rivers and in flood-prone valleys must be relocated before water levels reach danger marks, not after. Local administrations should identify vulnerable settlements in advance and prepare clear evacuation routes. Simple steps such as keeping emergency contact numbers visible in villages, stocking basic supplies, and avoiding travel through known landslide zones during heavy rain can prevent needless deaths. Public awareness campaigns deserve far more attention than they currently receive. Many rural families do not know how to interpret a flood warning or what to do when one is issued. Radio, mobile alerts and community announcements in local languages can close this gap quickly and cheaply. Authorities should not wait for rivers to reach danger levels before informing residents. Warnings must go out the moment forecasts show risk, giving people time to move to safety. The government has shown it can respond once a disaster hits, with rescue teams and heavy machinery deployed to clear roads and relocate residents. But response is not prevention. Pakistan must invest in early warning systems, train local volunteers, and build a culture where communities know exactly what to do before the water arrives.

The meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide is a welcome sign for Pakistan. It shows that the country is being taken seriously on the world stage. This editorial argues that the growing warmth between Islamabad and Oslo deserves genuine praise and should be built upon further. For too long, Pakistan has struggled to convince the world that it is a victim of terrorism, not a source of it. Naqvi used this meeting to make that case clearly. He told the Norwegian minister that militant groups are using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan. This is a message Pakistan must keep repeating to every foreign visitor. The world needs to understand that Pakistan is fighting a war that was not of its own making. Eide did not just listen politely. He praised Pakistan’s role in the recent US-Iran conflict and called the country’s approach constructive. This is significant. It means Pakistan’s careful diplomacy during a tense regional crisis is being noticed and valued by European leaders. Pakistan should take confidence from this recognition and continue playing the role of a responsible regional actor. The numbers on illegal migration also tell a positive story. A 47 per cent drop in illegal migration from Pakistan to Europe is not a small achievement. It shows that government policy, when applied seriously, produces real results. Naqvi was right to stress that legal migration pathways must be strengthened alongside these enforcement measures. Punishing illegal migration without offering legal alternatives only pushes desperate people back into the hands of human smugglers. Norway’s decision to send its foreign minister to Pakistan after almost a decade is itself a meaningful gesture. It signals renewed interest in trade, investment, technology and security cooperation. Eide also spoke warmly about the Pakistani community in Norway and its contributions in politics and healthcare. This is a reminder that people to people ties often do more for a relationship than formal agreements alone. Pakistan should use this opening wisely. Counterterrorism cooperation, police training and legal assistance agreements with Norway can strengthen Pakistan’s institutions. Trade and investment talks can bring real economic benefit. None of this happens automatically. It requires consistent follow through from both sides. This visit should not be treated as a one-off diplomatic photo opportunity. It should mark the beginning of a deeper and more regular relationship between two countries that clearly have much to offer each other.

The Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production has exposed a governance failure that Pakistan cannot afford to ignore. The Export Processing Zones Authority has been running without a permanent chairman for an extended period. This is not a minor administrative gap. It is a warning sign of how casually the government treats institutions that are meant to drive industrial growth and attract investment. Senator Saleem Mandviwalla was right to raise alarm during the committee session. Leadership vacuums do not just delay paperwork. They shake investor confidence, stall strategic decisions, and put Pakistan at risk of falling short on commitments made under the IMF Extended Fund Facility. The phase-out of incentives and restrictions on EPZ sales to the domestic market are not small technical details. They are conditions tied directly to Pakistan’s economic credibility on the world stage. The situation around the draft Automotive and Auto Parts Manufacturing Policy 2026-31 tells a similar story. The policy has admirable goals. It wants to promote New Energy Vehicles, increase domestic value addition, and boost exports. But good intentions are not enough. Local manufacturers are being squeezed by high tariffs on raw materials and steep duties that put them at a serious disadvantage. Without resolving these operational bottlenecks first, the policy risks becoming another document full of promises that never translate into results on the ground. The government must understand that ambition without execution is meaningless. If domestic producers cannot compete because of avoidable cost disadvantages, foreign competitors will fill the gap while Pakistan’s own industry falls further behind. It is encouraging that the committee has directed stakeholders to submit formal grievances and scheduled a follow-up session with the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Industries and Production. But scheduling meetings is not the same as solving problems. The government must move quickly to appoint permanent leadership at the EPZ Authority and address the structural issues raised by industry representatives. The country does not have the luxury of time. Every delay chips away at investor confidence and puts the country’s IMF compliance and international trade credibility further at risk. The government must take stock of this situation now, before it becomes yet another missed opportunity for industrial growth.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has given a clear warning. Heavy monsoon rains, thunderstorms and strong winds will hit most of the country from July 24 to July 28. Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are all on the forecast list. This is not a small warning. It is a signal that the country needs to prepare now, not after the flooding starts. The pattern is familiar. Every monsoon season, cities like Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Hyderabad and Sukkur face urban flooding when drains fail to handle the water. Every year, weak buildings, electric poles and trees fall in strong winds. Every year, people in the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir face landslides and flash floods on slippery roads. These are not surprises anymore. They are known risks, and known risks can be managed if the response starts early. This time, the warning has come with enough notice. Provincial governments and disaster authorities have reportedly been placed on alert, and rescue teams and drainage machinery are said to be on standby. This is a good start. But standby is not the same as action. Drains in major cities need to be cleared before the rain falls, not after water is already standing in the streets. Weak buildings and old electric poles in flood-prone areas need urgent inspection now. Ordinary citizens also have a role to play. Farmers should secure their crops and move livestock to safer ground. Families living near canals, rivers and low-lying areas should keep emergency supplies ready and know their nearest safe shelter. Tourists heading to Gilgit-Baltistan, Hunza, Skardu or Neelum Valley should check road conditions before travelling and avoid unnecessary risks during heavy rain. We cannot control the weather. But it can control how ready it is when the weather turns dangerous. The five days ahead will test how well lessons from past floods have actually been learned.