Daily Times Editorials 7th August 2026

New Relationships

Seeing Somalia’s defence minister, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, sign a defence cooperation memorandum with Khawaja Asif on Tuesday; meet Pakistan’s naval and air chiefs on Wednesday and hold talks with Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir at General Headquarters on Thursday, should have given a befitting reply to those still inclined to dismiss the country’s dmilitary diplomacy as a succession of ceremonial calls and carefully worded communiqués.

Counterterrorism, military training and institutional capacity were discussed across all three services. Even though no arms agreement with Somalia has yet been announced, the last few days were yet another indication that Pakistan intended to move beyond being viewed principally as a consumer of security assistance and establish itself as a provider of military capability.

That ambition has acquired real commercial weight after Maarka-e-Haq last year, wherein the excellence of Pakistan’s aircraft, drones, missiles and air-defence systems catapulted it to global fame. The last few months have seen Islamabad discussing defence sales with as many as 13 countries, with six to eight negotiations at an advanced stage. The list included buyers across the Gulf, Africa and Asia, while demand has ranged from JF-17 fighters and Super Mushshak trainers to drones, armoured vehicles, ammunition and electronic systems.Balochistan Travel Info

Somalia fits naturally into this widening map. Its forces are fighting Al-Shabaab, attempting to secure one of Africa’s longest coastlines, and preparing to assume responsibilities that are still shouldered by foreign missions. Pakistan can offer equipment, training, maintenance, operational doctrine, and long-term collaboration as a single package, at a price many Western suppliers cannot match.

That our armed forces have spent two decades fighting complex terrorist networks, securing difficult terrain and building intelligence-led counterterrorism structures considerably adds to the appeal.

Analysts increasingly describe Pakistan as a “flexible, mid-tier provider of defence capacity:” able to train forces, supply advisers and offer relatively affordable platforms without the delays and political conditions often attached to Western assistance. That is the space Islamabad should seek to occupy.

The Somali engagement also follows the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan’s support last week for a proposed Saudi-led maritime coalition. Fourteen states backed the initiative, intended to protect navigation and energy routes through the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden. Somalia’s location places it directly beside those same waters.

A more capable Somali navy, army and air force would serve Somali sovereignty, but it would also support Pakistan’s own trade and energy interests by helping contain piracy, terrorist movement and arms trafficking along an increasingly contested maritime corridor.

There must still be care. Any expanding defence industry needs to resist the temptation of being viewed as an indiscriminate arms bazaar. Proposed deals involving divided states have already demonstrated how quickly commercial opportunities can become entangled in proxy rivalries and competing Gulf agendas

Media Insurgency

Barely had Abdul El-Sayed secured the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s Senate seat when US President Donald Trump branded him a communist and Republicans began presenting his victory as proof that the opposition party had surrendered to its far left. Democratic leaders, including some who had supported his opponent Haley Stevens, moved just as quickly to close ranks behind their new nominee.

El-Sayed is the first unabashed progressive to win a statewide Democratic primary in a state carried by Mr Trump in 2024. He now faces Republican Mike Rogers in a contest Democrats can scarcely afford to lose if they are to have any chance of recovering the Senate.

Yet the result also exposed a change in the way political candidates acquire influence in America. Mr El-Sayed was overwhelmed on television, where he was reportedly outspent by roughly 30 to one; amid an advertising deluge of about $62m–nearly half of it financed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), making the Michigan primary one of the most expensive in history. What he possessed instead was access to a growing network of podcasts, newsletters, YouTube programmes and livestreams.

The Democratic establishment should understand why this model has prospered. Many younger and progressive voters believe traditional political journalism gives excessive deference to party leadership and wealthy donors. The new outlets offer more time, a clearer ideological identity and room for subjects such as universal healthcare, economic inequality, immigration enforcement and military assistance to Israel that are often treated cautiously in mainstream forums.

Mr El-Sayed’s win also suggests that heavy outside spending can now become a liability. Money intended to portray a candidate as unacceptable may reinforce his claim that powerful interests are trying to determine the nomination. In Michigan, the campaign against Mr El-Sayed appears to have helped turn the influence of AIPAC and other donors into an issue in its own right.

There are, however, reasons for restraint. These platforms often combine journalism, entertainment, political advocacy and campaign activity. Hosts endorse candidates, organise fundraisers and sometimes canvass for them. A friendly hour-long conversation may reveal more than a television sound bite, but it can also protect an ally from the questioning that candidates seeking national office must face.

The greater danger is that an audience built through ideological agreement may be mistaken for the electorate itself. At the end of the day, Mr El-Sayed won by a narrow margin, not a landslide. Michigan remains divided, and Republicans are already trying to shift the campaign from healthcare and living costs to socialism, Gaza and the more controversial statements of progressive media personalities. Strategists are divided over whether those labels will matter more to swing voters than the cost of groceries and fuel.

The ultimate test will not take place in a podcast studio. It will take place across Michigan in November.