Washington cannot keep shielding Netanyahu from justice

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.4 has struck western Colombia. The disaster has taken at least 164 lives. More than 880 people are injured. Over 3,200 people remain missing. These numbers may still rise as rescue teams continue searching through collapsed buildings. Our hearts go out to the people of Colombia. Families have lost loved ones. Homes have turned into rubble. Hospitals meant to save lives have themselves collapsed, forcing doctors to treat patients on the streets. Even a historic cathedral, standing tall since the 1920s, could not survive the shaking earth. This is a moment of deep grief for Colombia and for all of humanity. This tragedy reminds us of another dark chapter closer to home. In October 2005, a massive earthquake struck Azad Jammu and Kashmir and northern Pakistan. That disaster killed over 73,000 people. Entire towns were destroyed within seconds. Schools collapsed while children were still inside. The scars of that day remain fresh in the memories of countless families even today. Nature does not choose its victims. Earthquakes can strike any nation, rich or poor, prepared or unprepared. Yet the scale of destruction often depends on how ready a country is. Colombia’s new government now faces this crisis just days after taking office. Pakistan knows well how difficult such moments can be. The world must treat these repeated disasters as a wake-up call. Governments should invest more in earthquake-resistant buildings. Hospitals and schools must be built to withstand strong tremors. Early warning systems and trained rescue teams can save many lives when disaster strikes. Colombia now needs support from the international community. Rescue equipment, medical aid and financial help can ease the suffering of affected families. Pakistan, having faced similar pain in 2005, understands this need better than most nations. We mourn with Colombia today. We also hope this tragedy pushes every vulnerable nation, including our own, to take earthquake preparedness seriously before the next disaster strikes.

Lahore’s old city is finally getting the attention it deserves. Nawaz Sharif, the three time former prime minister, has now been made chairman of the newly formed board of the Lahore Heritage Area Revival project. He has also been named patron in chief of the Punjab Walled Cities and Heritage Areas Authority. This is a welcome change, and it deserves praise. Earlier, Nawaz Sharif only held the title of chief patron. He could give advice, but he had no real power to act. Now, under a new notification issued by the Punjab government, a proper board has been formed. This board has full executive and administrative powers. This means decisions can be made faster, without getting stuck in bureaucratic delays. This move shows something important. A senior political leader is choosing to give his time and attention to restoring the heritage of his own city. Lahore’s old streets, its Mughal era buildings, its Sikh period structures, and its colonial landmarks carry the memory of centuries. For too long, many of these sites were left to decay. Now, with pedestrian zones planned from New Anarkali to Paan Gali, and from Kacheri Chowk to Neela Gumbad, the old city may finally get the dignity it deserves. Nawaz Sharif has a track record of completing large projects on time. Motorways, roads, and infrastructure schemes from his earlier terms are still remembered today. If he brings that same energy to Lahore’s heritage revival, the city stands to gain a great deal. This is not just about buildings. It is about restoring identity, culture, and pride for the people who live there. This is why other politicians across Pakistan should take note. Every city in this country has its own history, its own old markets, its own forgotten buildings. Karachi, Multan, Peshawar, and Quetta all carry stories that deserve to be preserved. Political leaders in these cities should step forward the way Nawaz Sharif has done for Lahore. Owning a city means more than winning votes there. It means protecting its identity for future generations. At the same time, the federal government must think bigger. If provinces and cities can be revived one by one, the whole country can be revived together. Pakistan does not just need leaders who own their cities. It needs a government that owns the entire nation, its heritage, its people, and its future.

The country is having an important conversation again. Should the country create new provinces to fix its governance problems? Or should it strengthen local governments and give real power to mayors instead? Federal Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently argued that the current system of governance has become outdated. He warned that without real reform, Pakistan will still face the same problems ten years from now. He is right that something needs to change. Large provinces, especially Punjab, are simply too big to manage efficiently from one provincial capital. But former State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain offers an important word of caution. He points out that creating new provinces means building an entirely new layer of bureaucracy. Each new province needs its own secretariat, its own cabinet, its own departments, its own buildings and vehicles. All of this adds permanent, recurring costs to a country that is already struggling with debt and financial pressure. Creating a new province does not solve a problem. It often creates an expensive new one. Dr Ishrat Hussain’s proposed solution deserves serious attention. He suggests that instead of drawing new provincial boundaries, Pakistan should strengthen mayoral systems and local governments in every major city. If cities like Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad were given real financial and administrative powers, with elected mayors controlling budgets and development projects, this could fix governance problems without the heavy cost of new provincial structures. His argument makes sense. The real issue is not how many provinces Pakistan has. The real issue is that power has never properly reached the local level, where problems are actually felt and solved. This is a reasonable middle path. Strengthening city governments should be the first priority. Giving elected mayors genuine control over budgets, infrastructure and daily administration would bring government closer to the people it serves, without adding new layers of expensive bureaucracy. That said, there may still be a limited case for new provinces where genuine historical, linguistic and administrative grounds exist. Punjab is an unusually large province, and two regions within it, the Seraiki belt in the south and the Potohar region in the north, have long-standing and distinct identities, dialects and development needs that differ from central Punjab. If any new provinces are ever created, these two are the most defensible candidates, since they rest on real cultural and administrative logic rather than short-term political convenience. But this should remain the exception, not the rule.

The Punjab Revenue Authority has taken a step that deserves praise. It has banned handwritten and manual receipts for hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and marriage halls. These businesses must now use the Electronic Invoice Management System, known as EIMS, to issue receipts. This is a small change on paper, but it can bring a big shift in how Punjab collects tax. For years, many businesses in Punjab have used handwritten slips or given no receipt at all. This made it easy to hide real sales. A shop could tell the tax authority one number and keep the true earnings elsewhere. Customers rarely questioned this, since a handwritten slip looked normal. This habit cost the province huge amounts of tax revenue every year. The new rule closes this gap. Every sale through EIMS gets recorded electronically. This makes it much harder for a business to underreport what it earns. The PRA has also set firm penalties. Businesses that ignore the rule can face fines between four hundred thousand and one million rupees. Repeat offenders risk having their premises sealed for up to a month. These penalties send a clear message that documentation is no longer optional. This move fits into a wider global pattern. Countries that have moved to digital invoicing have generally seen tax collection improve. Pakistan has struggled for decades with a low tax to GDP ratio, and informal cash transactions are one major reason. Punjab’s decision to enforce digital receipts is a practical, low cost way to fix part of this problem. However, this step should be the beginning, not the end. Digital receipts alone do not close every loophole. A business can still issue a proper digital receipt while asking the customer to pay in cash outside the system. The real solution is to make digital payments themselves mandatory alongside digital receipts. If customers are required to pay through cards, mobile wallets or bank transfers, then every transaction leaves a financial trail that is far harder to manipulate. This is simply how modern economies function. From small cafes to large retail chains, digital payments have become the norm across much of the world. Pakistan is lagging behind, and Punjab has an opportunity to lead the way. Encouraging or eventually requiring digital transactions would also benefit ordinary consumers, who would gain better protection through verified records of what they paid and for what. The Punjab government has taken a sensible first step. The next step should be mandatory digital transactions, not just mandatory digital receipts.

Pakistan does not often receive praise from international publications on economic matters. This time, it has earned it. A US publication has praised Pakistan’s efforts to modernise its financial system, saying the country is steadily strengthening its position in the global digital financial landscape through reforms and technological innovation. This praise is well deserved. This did not happen by accident. It happened because Pakistan chose to invest in digital transformation at a time when many countries are still debating whether digital finance is worth the effort. The article rightly noted that Pakistan has the potential to play a meaningful role in the evolving global digital economy. The publication commended his vision, and for good reason. Building a regulatory system for virtual assets from scratch is not easy. Pakistan needed clear rules, not confusion, and PVARA has worked to provide exactly that. The message is simple: Pakistan must actively position itself within the international digital financial system to benefit from emerging technologies and new economic opportunities. What stands out most is a simple but powerful idea from the article. The future will belong to countries that make swift decisions and implement reforms without delay. This is a lesson Pakistan has learned the hard way in other sectors, where slow decision-making has cost the country valuable time. In digital finance, Pakistan appears determined not to repeat that mistake. The article also makes an important point about how governments must operate going forward. It says governments can no longer rely solely on traditional bureaucratic systems. They must instead adopt the speed, flexibility and innovation-driven approach of technology startups. This is a bold statement, but it reflects reality. Digital finance moves fast, and slow institutions get left behind. Digital assets are becoming the foundation of tomorrow’s financial infrastructure. Countries investing in digital finance today will be better positioned for long-term economic growth and global competitiveness. Pakistan is one of these countries, and that deserves recognition. None of this means the work is finished. The government still has a long road ahead in building trust and expanding financial inclusion. But the direction is right, and this recognition from an international publication confirms that Pakistan’s efforts are being noticed. Pakistan should build on this momentum, not lose it.

The government has decided to open all border crossings and transit routes with Afghanistan. This decision came after a meeting led by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. Senior officials and business leaders attended the meeting. They discussed ways to remove obstacles in bilateral trade. This is a wise and welcome step. Trade between neighbours brings benefits to both sides. Pakistani and Afghan traders have suffered due to closed borders. Goods get stuck. Businesses lose money. Ordinary families bear the cost. Reopening these routes will help traders move goods with ease. It will also support economic activity on both sides of the border. The meeting also focused on legal travel between the two countries. Citizens should be able to cross borders through proper channels. Legal procedures must remain in place. This keeps movement safe and orderly. It also protects both nations from misuse of open borders. Pakistan has shown patience and goodwill in this decision. Afghanistan must now respond as a good neighbour. Trade brings prosperity. It creates jobs. It builds markets. It gives ordinary Afghans a better life. Afghanistan can gain much more through honest trade than through any other path. Sadly, some elements continue to use Afghan soil to plan violence against Pakistan. This must stop. Harbouring terrorists brings only destruction. It hurts Afghanistan’s own image in the world. It scares away investors. It keeps the region trapped in conflict instead of growth. Afghanistan holds a choice between two futures. One path leads to markets, jobs and shared prosperity. The other leads to isolation and more suffering for its own people. The fresh step by the government also has a message for those who still carry arms. Violence has brought nothing but loss to this region for decades. Homes are destroyed. Children grow up without safety. Futures are cut short. There is still time to choose peace. Laying down arms and returning to normal life is a far better path than continued bloodshed. Reopening the border is a chance for both nations. Pakistan has extended its hand. Afghanistan must now choose trade and peace over hostility and terror.