Dawn Editorials 12th October 2025

Another rampage

FOR the past several days, parts of Punjab, specifically Lahore, have become a battleground for clashes between law enforcers and workers of the TLP, as the hard-line group attempts to march on Islamabad, supposedly in ‘solidarity’ with Gaza’s battered people. This is a frustratingly familiar script, as the outfit has many times in the past chosen sensitive religious or geopolitical issues for flexing its muscles, and taking on the state, leaving a trail of violence in its wake. The state, for its part, has vacillated between indulging the TLP, banning it, unbanning it, and fighting it in the streets. This time, the far-right party has used the pretext of support for Gaza — a just cause being hijacked for dubious ends. In the past, it has taken to the streets over the blasphemy issue, and other religious matters. In the latest rampage, pitched battles have been fought between LEAs and the TLP, with several policemen injured. The TLP says its workers have been killed, though these claims have not been verified. Normal life has also been affected in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including by road closures and data shutdowns, in order to thwart the TLP’s advance on the capital.

Ever since the Zia era, the state has hobnobbed with extremist groups, only to later realise that the monsters created cannot be controlled. Though ostensibly this policy was linked to geopolitical developments, such as the Afghan jihad, these sectarian and extremist outfits also came in handy when it came to putting ‘errant’ political parties in their place. Long after the failure of this policy had become evident, the state has continued to display confusion over how to handle such groups. For example, along with the incidents mentioned, the TLP was active in the Jaranwala rampage targeting Christians, as well as mob lynching and campaigns against minority groups such as the Ahmadis. These acts may be enough to justify proscription, but instead, the TLP has contested elections, and struck deep roots. The immediate need is to detain and prosecute leaders of the group that advocate violence. But in the long run, it is only the deradicalisation of society that can restore sanity, as rounding up all workers is impossible. The government must display zero tolerance for groups that glorify violence and threaten the state. Otherwise, the next showdown with such outfits may be not too far away.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025

After the slaughter

AS the people of Gaza return to the rubble where their homes once stood, there is a feeling of relief.

Two years after the genocide was unleashed by Israel, the Gazans are thankful that the slaughter is over — though for how long is anyone’s guess. But in the midst of their respite there is also grief and bitterness. Some have lost entire families, while others mourn a child, a sibling, a parent, a spouse or a friend murdered by the Zionist regime. Along with medics to address the effects of the deliberate famine inflicted on them, the survivors will need professional help to cope with their mental wounds.

Beyond the self-congratulatory rhetoric coming out of the White House about having secured ‘peace’, the first priority must be the humanitarian uplift of the population. As the spokesperson of the UN’s humanitarian agency said, the job ahead is “monumental”.

The Gaza genocide must never be forgotten. Just as the West ensures that the Holocaust — perpetrated by one of its own — continues to be remembered, so too must the memory of the Palestinian holocaust be kept alive. Over 67,000 people have been butchered by Tel Aviv in plain sight, while many more bodies may be buried under the tons of rubble. These crimes must not be forgotten and brushed under the rug; there must be accountability for those responsible, in Tel Aviv and beyond, for the murder and starvation of occupied Gaza’s population.

There are also important questions about how long the ceasefire will last, considering Israel’s dubious record of repeatedly breaking its word. More cynical observers are of the view that the Zionist regime may restart its genocidal campaign once the Israeli prisoners are back. One can only hope that this will not be the case, and that the architects of this plan, namely the US and the Arab states, ensure that Israel sticks to its word.

The status of the latter stages of Donald Trump’s peace deal are also unclear, specifically with regard to Hamas’s surrender of its weapons, and the question of who will govern Gaza. Several Palestinian groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PFLP, have said they reject the ‘foreign guardianship’ of Gaza.

Under no means must a colonial enterprise be allowed to ‘oversee’ the Strip; it is the Palestinians themselves who should be deciding their future. After the ceasefire, it would be unfair not to acknowledge the tens of thousands, if not millions, of people who marched in Western cities calling for justice in Palestine, even as many of their governments remained complicit in the genocide.

But let there be no illusions: long-term peace can only come about with the liberation of occupied Palestinian land, and the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025

Borrowed credit

AMERICAN President Donald J. Trump has not received the Nobel Peace Prize. It would have been quite something if he did. Mr Trump has been obtuse and belligerent in implementing the agenda of his second term in office, and his methods for attaining ‘world peace’ have appeared to rely more on bullying warring parties into submission than on building bridges between people. Instead of Mr Trump, the prize has been awarded to Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado for her work in promoting democracy and freedom in her country. Unfazed, Mr Trump claimed during a Friday press conference that Ms Machado had personally called to tell him that he deserved the prize more. “‘I’m accepting this in honour of you, because you really deserved it’,” Mr Trump quoted the laureate as saying. Meanwhile, it appears that world leaders have figured out how to keep the American president happy: praise, appeasement and deference to his self-perceived ‘greatness’. Cleverly, Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned the prize’s legitimacy “in light of Mr Trump’s peace efforts”, instantly earning the latter’s gratitude.

That is not all. Mr Trump appears to have harboured the thought that Ms Machado should have considered handing her award to him. “I didn’t say ‘then give it to me’, though, I think she might have,” he said. He also took second-hand credit for her achievement, noting that he had been helping Ms Machado and Venezuela navigate the country’s political crisis. It is a relief that the award committee stuck to some principles when deciding who to recognise this year. It is not as if it hasn’t made questionable decisions previously, but this time, pressure from the new US establishment was intense. The White House put out a statement post the announcement, regretting that “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.” To the committee’s credit, and the rest of the world will agree, the award confirms it remains the other way around.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025