Dawn Editorials 13th October 2025

Afghan clashes

TENSIONS that had been brewing for some time between Pakistan and Afghanistan exploded into open conflict when the Afghan Taliban regime launched attacks against this country late on Saturday, and Pakistan responded by repulsing the aggression.

The number of attacks carried out by TTP terrorists inside Pakistan had been growing in frequency and lethality, with a high number of security men martyred over the last few weeks.

On Thursday, there had been reports of attacks inside Afghanistan, including the apparent targeting of the TTP chief in Kabul. The Afghan regime issued a vague statement about the attack, making no mention of casualties, while Pakistan neither confirmed nor denied the operation, with both civil and military officials only saying Afghanistan needed to stop harbouring TTP terrorists.

It is in the backdrop of these events that the Kabul regime launched attacks against Pakistan. The military says that 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” had been killed, while 23 troops had been martyred.

The hostilities have ceased for the time being. As per the Afghan Taliban foreign minister, the Kabul regime paused the fighting after “our friends, Qatar and Saudi Arabia” expressed the need to de-escalate. Iran, which shares a border with both states, also offered its good offices to the “two neighbouring and Muslim countries” to bring down tensions.

Pakistan, after showing it is capable of defending itself and repelling aggression, should prevent the matter from spiralling further. Though there have been low-level skirmishes in the past, this is the biggest flare-up in recent years.

Pakistan must also be wary of the fact that India and the Afghan Taliban — once sworn enemies — have suddenly experienced a warming of ties, with the Afghan foreign minister receiving a cordial reception in New Delhi recently. Therefore, it would not be in this country’s interest to let ties with Kabul — however fraught — deteriorate further.

At the heart of the matter is Pakistan’s legitimate grievance that Afghanistan hosts bloodthirsty terrorists inimical to this country. In fact, it is accepted by the international community that Kabul provides safe haven to not only the TTP, but other terrorist groups as well, such as Al Qaeda, ETIM, etc.

If these groups keep launching attacks inside this country, Pakistan must react. But while kinetic cross-border action has to be taken when faced with foreign aggression, this is not a long-term solution, as it risks sparking a full-fledged war with the Kabul regime. Pakistan has shown that it can very much defend itself on the battlefield. Now the focus must shift to addressing the issue of terrorism through diplomacy. This can be done by working with Muslim states that have helped de-escalate matters, as well as engaging regional allies such as China, which have influence with Kabul.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2025

Burden of death

WHEN a nation continues with colonial residues, it only has itself to blame. The Justice Project Pakistan’s new report shows a pause in executions since 2019 with a 20pc decline in death row prisoners. But Pakistan’s death row remains among the world’s most populous: 3,394 prisoners, including 18 women. A reflection of the ills that overpower the justice system, including flawed investigations and prosecution, delays and poor sentencing parameters, it conveys an urgent need to review the overreliance on capital punishment — a penalty this paper opposes. Punjab with 2,307 prisoners, including 13 women, accounts for almost 68pc of Pakistan’s death row. Sindh and KP have 503 and 325 condemned inmates respectively; the latter holds two females and one juvenile despite “the prohibition under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018”. Meanwhile, 67 in Balochistan is the lowest; each conviction is for murder. The report highlights that, despite smaller populations, AJK with 150 and GB with over 1pc of the national death row count are “the highest death row-to-prisoner ratios nationally — 19pc and 11pc respectively”. This contradiction in a low incarceration-rate territory implies application of the capital punishment beyond the gravity of the offence.

The death penalty carries an extra layer of cruelty and a heightened risk of the miscarriage of justice. That danger is irreversible. Between 2022 and 2025, Pakistan removed four offences from its list of capital crimes — a halfhearted move at a time when categorical rejection and reinstatement of the death penalty moratorium, followed by abolishment, is overdue. External pressures should not dictate our shift towards a humane justice system. The penalty’s failure as an effective deterrent anywhere in the world is reason enough to abandon it. Moreover, severe psychological repercussions plague those living on death watch in overcrowded cells. Mental healthcare in jail is as crucial as post-release rehabilitation centres. These should offer support to traumatised, often isolated kin. The treatment of inmates with psychosocial issues exposes another instance of flagrant disregard for the right to life: Kanizan Bibi’s sentence became three and a half decades in detention even after the penalty was commuted. To avert such atrocities, the 2021 Safia Bano judgement must be enforced with a resolve to preserve dignity. Responding to cruelty with cruelty, instead of reform, increases violence. Civilised societies cannot have space for the gallows.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2025

Misuse of powers

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s decision to form a committee to look into the allegations of misuse of powers by top officials of the country’s major regulatory bodies should help bring transparency to the boardrooms of these entities. Calls for the scrutiny of such powers were triggered last month when a Senate panel raised questions over the SECP chairman’s extraordinary salary and allowances reportedly amounting to Rs381m in addition to other perks. Later, it transpired that the legal framework governing the other regulatory bodies, including the State Bank and Nepra, also empower their management and boards to arbitrarily enhance their salaries and other emoluments without government or parliamentary oversight. The committee will now scrutinise the legality and propriety of such self-serving decisions, and recommend steps to strengthen oversight.

Many argue that competitive, market-based pay and perks are essential to attract and retain competent professionals and allow regulatory institutions to function better. There is no denying this fact. However, the argument loses force when these decisions are made by the very people who stand to directly benefit from them in an opaque manner. Consistent regulatory lapses and failure of these regulators to protect the public interest and ensure transparency and accountability in the sectors they are tasked to regulate further weaken this argument. Given the poor performance of most regulators, some might want the government to alter the legal frameworks that allow their top managers to fix their own compensation. That would be a mistake. Rather, the committee should revisit the governing laws of all regulators and suggest ways to ensure that the enhancement of salaries and other perks of top officials are linked to the performance of the regulators and strict parliamentary scrutiny to uphold accountability. Also, it should suggest ways to make their decision-making processes transparent to restore public trust in these bodies.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2025