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Daily Times Editorials 1st January 2026

zarnishayat — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 11:33:53 +0000

Pakistan in 2026

Pakistan enters 2026 with a paradox that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The country is not isolated, not marginal, not invisible. Yet it is still uncertain, and uncertainty is its most expensive liability.

Demography captures both the promise and the peril. With a population of over 240 million, Pakistan is now the world’s fifth-largest country. More than a quarter of its citizens are under 30. In theory, this youth bulge should be an engine of growth.

But the labour market paints a more sobering picture with an eight per cent unemployment rate. A rapid influx of new workers compounds a persistent skill gap, making meaningful employment growth slow and uneven. Absent dramatic improvements in education, healthcare and family planning, the demographic dividend teeters on the verge of becoming a back-breaking burden.

The economy offers little margin for error. Growth of roughly three per cent is barely enough to keep pace with population expansion. Public debt levels continue to loom large, with general government debt estimated to stay around 70 per cent of GDP. Inflation, having eased sharply in 2025, is forecast to remain volatile.

Foreign investment remains thin, exports lack depth, and productivity gains are scarce. Stability has been purchased through austerity, not reform. Without broadening the tax base, fixing energy pricing and restoring confidence in regulation, Pakistan will continue to lurch from programme to programme, managing crises rather than escaping them.

Politics compounds these problems. A tenuous coalition government struggles to forge a consensus, leaving major reforms stalled. Public debates are frequently consumed by parliamentary brinkmanship and mass protests rather than substantive economic or governance strategies. This dissonance diverts attention from the urgent need for fiscal and institutional reforms, all the while eroding public confidence in democratic processes.

And yet, foreign policy tells a different story. Islamabad has expanded its diplomatic reach, balancing ties with China, re-engaging the United States and deepening strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia. It has positioned itself as an active voice in the Muslim world and a relevant interlocutor in regional diplomacy. That Pakistan has learned to speak the language of connectivity, security and geo-economics cannot be stressed enough. Sadly, the renewed emphasis on external partnerships has not yet translated into a flood of investment or sustained FDI–a reminder that international acclaim alone cannot substitute for economic fundamentals.

There are signs of social reform. Civil society and legislative efforts continue to press on issues such as gender equality and minority rights. Yet, Pakistan’s entrenched social inequalities remain formidable. Gender disparity in economic participation remains stark, with women’s formal labour force representation among the lowest globally. Debates around contentious issues such as child protection, LGBTQ rights and religious liberties hint at a transition. Still, without stronger enforcement mechanisms, reforms risk being confined to paper rather than practice. Here’s to 2026. May Pakistan’s leaders, elites and people alike finally summon the courage of conviction that our trials demand, lest another year of promise slip into the ledger of missed opportunity. *

Bangladesh after Khaleda

Bangladesh is in mourning. Khaleda Zia’s death was followed by a three-day state funeral and national mourning, and Dhaka came to a standstill as millions turned out to pay their respects. Flags flew at half-mast, security lined the streets, and even critics noted that an overwhelming turnout emphasises the void she leaves. It reflected a deeper unease about what follows when one of the last leaders forged in the crucible of the country’s democratic reopening leaves the stage.

Ms Zia was never a unifying figure in the comforting sense of the term. She was relentless and often uncompromising. Still, as the country’s first woman prime minister and the leader who presided over the 1991 transition back to parliamentary democracy, she anchored mass politics in civilian rule at a fragile moment. That achievement was incomplete and frequently undermined, but it mattered. It normalised electoral participation after years of authoritarian interruption and restored the idea that governments could, at least in principle, be voted out.

Her later career was defined by a grinding rivalry that hardened Bangladesh’s politics into a zero-sum contest. Corruption cases, imprisonment and exile stripped her of office. Her supporters saw dignity in the way she absorbed pressure without theatrics as critics argued she tolerated illiberal alliances and personalised politics. Both claims contain truth. What is undeniable is that Khaleda Zia, even weakened, restrained escalation. With her in the arena, confrontation had ceilings. Without her, those ceilings are less certain.

That uncertainty now frames the run-up to elections expected in early 2026. Public appetite for participation remains strong, yet it is shadowed by distrust born of disputed polls and institutional decay. Within the BNP, succession is unavoidable. Dynastic continuity may deliver organisational coherence. However, a successor who cannot expand beyond a loyal base risks narrowing the party’s appeal and further fragmenting an already brittle landscape.

For Islamabad, Khaleda’s passing is both personal and strategic. National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq attended the funeral. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called her “a committed friend of Pakistan” whose “service…leaves a lasting legacy.” This praise is more than flattery. Khaleda’s BNP held a softer line on war-era issues and welcomed trade ties. Now, with Sheikh Hasina ousted last year and a Yunus-led caretaker in charge, Islamabad sees an opportunity to rebuild ties. Still, any move will be watched warily: Bangladeshi society remains sensitive about 1971. It can only be hoped that Islamabad presses forward on trade, connectivity and cultural ties without overplaying its hand. With nearly 70% of Bangladeshis trusting the caretaker regime, there’s indeed room for a low-key reset.

Bangladesh’s political landscape is shifting fast. Khaleda Zia may be gone, but the game she helped define is far from over. Her supporters vow that the legacy lives on, while others worry that old grudges could return stronger without her to temper them. *

Daily Times Editorials 27th Sept 2025

zarnishayat — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 08:47:53 +0000

Moral Contradictions

The Lahore High Court has ruled that under Islamic law, a marriage contracted after attaining puberty is valid, even if the individual is below the age set in the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.

In Punjab, where the statute fixes the minimum marriage age at 18 for males and 16 for females, the effect of this judgment is chilling: the protective barrier of law collapses the moment a girl of fifteen is declared to have reached puberty. In one stroke, the court has allowed the biological accident of adolescence to erase the legal guarantee of childhood.

This ruling collides with a profoundly different vision of Pakistan’s future. Only months ago, the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025, was unanimously passed.

That law establishes 18 as the minimum marriage age for both genders, criminalises those who facilitate underage unions, and most significantly treats sexual relations with a minor as statutory rape. Lauded internationally as a beacon of hope, the Act reflects a moral consensus that a child’s place is in school, not in the marital bed.

Placed side by side, the ICT law and the LHC ruling embody two clashing futures. In Islamabad, a fifteen-year-old is recognised and protected as a child, yet just a few hundred kilometres away, she may be handed over as a wife. This patchwork is incoherent, yes, but worse, it is a deliberate abandonment of Pakistan’s most vulnerablePakistan travel guide

Civil society has fought for decades to secure stronger protections against child marriage, and its persistence won Islamabad’s breakthrough. Sindh has also legislated a minimum marriage age of 18 for both genders.

Yet as long as those in positions of authority cling to outdated laws or interpretations, the progress of one jurisdiction will be undone by the regression of another. Poverty, climate displacement, and patriarchal customs already conspire to drive families into marrying off their daughters. To add judicial sanction to this cruelty is to turn injustice into impunity. Parliament must now rise to its responsibility and legislate a uniform national minimum marriage age of 18 across all provinces, closing the loopholes that courts exploit.

The Supreme Court should also provide binding guidance to ensure that puberty is never again treated as a license to rob girls of their childhood. Anything less would be an abandonment of children to the whims of prejudice and patriarchy. *

New Dawn

Pakistan’s diplomacy has seldom staged such a remarkable re-entry onto the world’s centre stage as it did this week in Washington. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump was more than a ceremonial encounter, for it marked the opening of a new chapter in Pakistan-US relations. For a country too often cast as peripheral, this was a moment of validation and renewed relevance.

The optics were not hollow. Pakistan has secured tangible commitments. Trump hailed Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism and underscored cooperation in averting a regional crisis, while the Prime Minister showcased a proactive agenda: inviting American investment in agriculture, information technology, mining and energy. A minerals agreement with a US firm worth half a billion dollars has already set the tone, drawing Pakistan’s untapped resources into global supply chains. Equally significant, Washington has agreed to apply a 19 per cent tariff on Pakistani goods under its new reciprocal trade plan, a marked improvement from the levels Islamabad once feared. This places Pakistan among the more favourably treated partners in South Asia and signals that Islamabad is not only back in Washington’s calculations but may be a preferred collaborator in key sectors.

India’s unease was immediate and predictable. New Delhi’s commentators have begun calling this the greatest US tilt towards Pakistan in the last five decades, revealing more about their anxieties than about any genuine imbalance. Having long basked in Washington’s strategic embrace, India finds it difficult to accept a Pakistan that reasserts itself diplomatically. Nor is the domestic chorus of cynicism from PTI circles any less transparent. Their criticisms are shaped more by political opportunism than by sober analysis. This outreach should inspire pride, yet it must also instil prudence. Ties with the United States have historically swung between peaks of cooperation and troughs of neglect. Foreign capital, moreover, cannot on its own guarantee prosperity. Unless managed inclusively, mineral wealth may enrich a few while leaving communities behind.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s call at the United Nations for “proactive, not provocative” leadership in South Asia captured the moment well. Pakistan has signalled its willingness to lead with responsibility, to turn opportunity into stability. If nurtured with care, the opening with Washington can serve as a springboard for economic transformation and regional equilibrium.

This is a beginning, not an end. Pakistan must now ensure that diplomatic goodwill is translated into enduring partnerships. Critics at home and abroad may scoff, yet the path forward lies in steady, realistic, and confident engagement. Managed wisely, this turn in Washington can herald nothing less than a national resurgence. *