World must break its silence on Al-Aqsa and Palestine

Pakistan’s solar energy story is moving in the right direction, and this deserves praise. Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari has announced that the country’s solar capacity has now reached 38,000 megawatts. This is a major achievement for a country that relied heavily on imported fuel for decades. The minister shared this update at the Battery Storage Flexibility 2026 Conference, where he also laid out an ambitious target. The government wants clean energy to make up 90 percent of Pakistan’s electricity mix by 2035. Right now, clean energy already accounts for 55 percent of total electricity generation in the country. This is a significant number and shows real progress. The government is not stopping at solar power alone. It is also working on battery storage technology, which allows electricity to be stored and used later. Leghari said Pakistan is building its own battery energy storage industry. This includes local engineering work, system integration and battery management software. The Ministry of Industries is preparing a policy to support battery manufacturing inside Pakistan. A National Battery Energy Storage Framework is also being prepared. This framework will set safety standards, define how batteries connect to the power grid and create rules for investment in the sector. A National Steering Committee has already been formed to guide this work, along with technical and regulatory groups. Pilot battery storage projects have been approved for electricity distribution companies as well. These small projects will help the government understand what works before rolling out bigger plans. All of this progress is worth appreciating. Pakistan is being recognised as one of the fastest growing distributed energy markets in the world. But announcements and targets are only the first step. What matters most now is consistent follow through. The government must ensure that policies are implemented on time, that investors get the transparent framework they were promised and that local manufacturing actually takes off. Clean energy growth must also reach ordinary consumers through lower electricity bills, not just headline capacity numbers. Real sustainability means turning these plans into results that last for decades, not just for one conference speech.

A court in New Delhi has sentenced former AAP leader Tahir Hussain to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots. Four other men received the same sentence. This case has been one of the most talked about legal battles to come out of the violence that shook northeast Delhi five years ago. On the surface, this looks like justice being served for a man who lost his life. But many observers, particularly within India’s Muslim community and civil rights groups, view this case with deep unease. Tahir Hussain was a Muslim municipal councillor, and his conviction fits into a wider and troubling pattern many have documented since Narendra Modi’s government came to power. Critics argue that Muslims accused in the 2020 riots have often faced harsher and faster prosecution than Hindu individuals accused of similar or worse violence during the same unrest, where investigations have moved slowly or produced few convictions. Rights groups have long raised concerns about India’s use of anti-terror laws, preventive detention, and prolonged pretrial custody against Muslim activists, students, and political figures since 2019. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both documented what they describe as a shrinking space for religious minorities to seek justice fairly in India today. Hussain’s supporters argue that he was targeted because of his political visibility and religious identity, not purely because of evidence. This does not mean the court’s findings should be dismissed outright. A judge examined evidence over several years, and Ankit Sharma’s family deserves acknowledgment of their loss. But the broader climate around India’s justice system, especially in communally charged cases, deserves scrutiny. When convictions consistently fall along religious lines, the question of whether the process was truly even-handed becomes impossible to ignore.

Two tribal elders lost their lives on Sunday in Lower South Waziristan. Gunmen shot Haji Gul and Malik Badshah while they travelled from Gul Kach to Zarmilan. Both men belonged to the Suleman Khel tribe. Police say the attackers escaped after the shooting. This is not an isolated case. It is part of a pattern that the state cannot keep ignoring. Tribal elders play a special role in this region. They settle disputes through jirgas. They stop small conflicts from becoming big ones. They keep peace between families and tribes. When someone kills these elders, they are not just killing individuals. They are killing the peace process itself. The list of victims keeps growing. In May, militants killed Malik Tariq Wazir in a bomb blast in Wana. He was a respected elder of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe. He had already survived an abduction in December 2024. He came back and kept working for peace. Then a bomb ended his life near a busy market. In June, gunmen killed two sons of another elder, Malik Jamil Wazir, in the same area. These killings send a clear message. Anyone who works for peace in Waziristan becomes a target. Over the past 18 months, Lower South Waziristan has seen more targeted killings, bomb attacks, kidnappings and extortion. Attacks on police and security forces have also increased. The people who suffer the most are ordinary tribesmen and the elders who try to protect them. Meanwhile, security forces report success in Balochistan. Under Operation Rad-ul-Fitna-3, forces killed 15 militants in areas including Mastung, Bolan, Washuk, Awaran, Sibi, Khuzdar, Harnai and Noshki. They also recovered weapons and ammunition. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the forces for these operations. These operations matter. They weaken militant networks. But military action alone cannot solve the deeper problem. The government needs a two-part plan. First, it must continue operations against armed militants. Second, and just as important, it must protect the peace-loving elders and common citizens who become easy targets. Right now, the second part is missing. Elders like Malik Tariq Wazir and Malik Jamil Wazir did not carry weapons. They carried influence and trust. That made them vulnerable, not safe. Security forces should extend protection to tribal jirga members, especially those who have received threats. Police in Waziristan need better resources to investigate these killings quickly and to make arrests, not just launch preliminary cases that go nowhere. Local communities need faster response times when gunmen attack. Elders who mediate disputes deserve the same level of security attention as government officials, because they are doing work that keeps the state’s own peace efforts alive. Killing militants is one battle. Protecting the elders and common people who choose peace over violence in Waziristan is another. The government must treat both as equally urgent. If peace-loving voices keep dying in silence, fewer people will dare to raise those voices at all.

Pakistan has just done something worth celebrating. Standing alongside Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has helped bring to life the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a pact that puts Pakistan right at the centre of a new chapter in regional security. This is not a small achievement. It is proof that Pakistan’s voice still carries weight where it matters most. For decades, Pakistan has built strong ties with Türkiye and Saudi Arabia separately. Now, those ties have been woven into one formal framework. Under this agreement, an attack on one country will be treated as an attack on all three. That is a serious commitment, and Pakistan’s inclusion in it says a great deal about how the region sees Islamabad’s role today. Some commentators have rushed to compare this pact to NATO or to label it a “Muslim NATO.” That framing misses the point. This is not a bloc built to threaten anyone. It is a defensive arrangement built on trust, shared history, and common interest. The three countries have been careful to describe it as a framework for collective security, deterrence, and regional stability, not as a tool aimed at any single rival. What makes this moment especially encouraging is what each country brings to the table. Pakistan offers a battle-tested military and decades of experience fighting terrorism, skills few nations in the world can match. Saudi Arabia brings economic muscle and political influence across the Muslim world. Türkiye contributes a fast-growing defence industry and modern military technology. Put together, these three strengths complement each other in a way that few alliances manage to achieve. For Pakistan, this is more than a defence pact. It is a diplomatic opportunity. Islamabad already maintains working relationships with Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Iran, China, and the United States. Few countries in the world can claim that kind of reach. This new agreement strengthens Pakistan’s hand further, giving it a bigger seat at the table when regional crises need calm heads and open channels of communication. There is good reason to feel hopeful here. The Middle East and South Asia face real security challenges, from shifting alliances to new military technologies. In this uncertain environment, countries that plan ahead and build partnerships based on trust will be better placed to protect their people and their interests. Pakistan, by joining hands with two important regional powers, has shown exactly that kind of foresight. Of course, agreements on paper only matter if they are followed by real action. The success of this pact will depend on how well Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye coordinate in the years ahead, and how seriously all three governments honour their commitments. But the foundation being laid here is a strong one. Pakistan has long punched above its weight in regional diplomacy. With the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, it has taken another confident step forward, and that is something every Pakistani can take pride in.

Some people are calling it a tragedy on a par with the Peshawar Army Public School. The death of 14 newborn babies in a fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is a heartbreaking tragedy. These babies had just entered the world and were among the most vulnerable members of society. Their deaths raise serious questions about the safety of public hospitals and the responsibility of those entrusted with protecting patients. The National Assembly’s health committee has rightly questioned the initial claim that an old air conditioner caused the fire. The committee says there is no conclusive evidence so far to establish where the fire began. Other possibilities, including faulty electrical wiring and problems with the oxygen supply system, are now being investigated. Finding the real cause is important. However, the larger question is why a fire in a hospital nursery was allowed to become so deadly. Hospitals must be among the safest places in society. A newborn ward should have the highest level of fire protection, emergency planning and trained staff. This tragedy must not end with another inquiry and a few temporary suspensions. If negligence, poor management or failure to follow safety rules is found, those responsible must face strict action. Accountability should not stop with junior employees. Senior hospital officials and government authorities must also be investigated if they failed to ensure proper safety arrangements. There is an urgent need for practical reforms. Every major public and private hospital should undergo regular independent fire and electrical safety inspections. Fire alarms, smoke detectors, emergency exits and firefighting equipment must be checked regularly and kept in working condition. Hospitals should conduct frequent emergency drills so that doctors, nurses and other staff know exactly what to do during a fire. Special attention must be given to areas containing oxygen pipelines, electrical equipment and highly vulnerable patients. Old buildings should not be used for critical wards unless they meet modern safety standards. Where possible, newborns and intensive-care patients should be shifted to safer and better-equipped facilities. The government should also make the results of hospital safety audits public. This will increase transparency and encourage institutions to take safety rules seriously. Most importantly, safety standards must be enforced before a tragedy happens, not after innocent lives are lost. A fair investigation, strict accountability and strong safety reforms are the minimum that these innocent victims deserve. Pakistan cannot afford to wait for another tragedy before learning the same lesson again.

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.