Dawn Editorials 18th September 2025

Genocide it is

IT is clear to any observer that what Israel is doing in Gaza is not about destroying Hamas, but exterminating and ethnically cleansing the Palestinian population of the besieged Strip.

Soon after Tel Aviv launched its barbaric assault on Gaza, following the Hamas attacks of Oct 7, 2023, there were clear signs that Israel was indiscriminately and purposefully targeting civilians, including children. In the years since, credible voices from around the world have said that what the Zionist state is doing in Gaza amounts to genocide.

The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry is the latest to endorse this view. On Tuesday, the UN body said that Israel’s leadership, including its prime minister, president and former defence minister “incited the commission of genocide”.

Many other respectable voices have earlier come to the same conclusion. This includes Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, MSF, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, as well as the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Israel may dismiss all of this as “distorted and false”, but the evidence against it is damning.

It has also been pointed out that the descendants of those who themselves faced a genocide are today perpetrating a modern-day holocaust. It is a shocking irony that the children of Holocaust survivors should themselves have unleashed monstrous violence on the men, women and youngsters of occupied Palestine.

Some argue that the seeds of the present butchery were sown during the Nakba. But while the events of eight decades ago may be open to historical interpretation, Israel’s holocaust in Gaza is being carried out live, unfolding on our TV and mobile screens. Despite Tel Aviv’s repeated denials, the tiny corpses of Palestinian children murdered by Israel, as well the lifeless bodies of toddlers wasting away due to a man-made famine, are undeniable evidence of the Zionist state’s cold-blooded, inhuman tactics in the occupied territories.

There should be no more waffling about what is going on in Gaza. Those who raise the slogan of ‘never again’, and keep reminding humanity of the horrors Europe’s fascists unleashed on the continent’s Jewish population, need to help bring to an immediate end the Gaza genocide. In fact, the global community must unite to bring the perpetrators of the Palestinian genocide to justice. The Israeli leadership, as identified by the UN commission, must be tried for crimes against humanity, just as Nazi Germany’s leaders faced the law at the Nuremberg trials.

Moreover, there should be a global, UN-backed arms, economic and diplomatic embargo — along the lines of what apartheid-era South Africa faced — of Israel until it stops its campaign of extermination in Gaza. And if states refuse to cooperate and continue to arm and fund Israel, they must be considered partners in crime with Tel Aviv.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2025

Wheat supply curbs

PUNJAB’S unannounced ‘ban’ on interprovincial wheat movement is creating flour shortages leading to price spikes in KP and Sindh. What Punjab officials describe as ‘check-points’ to curb ‘unusual’ wheat movement is actually being viewed as a de facto ban by the other provinces. The move has drawn criticism from flour millers and politicians from provinces heavily reliant on Punjab for wheat supplies and food security. Flour mill owners have rightly argued that the curbs on wheat movement go against Article 151 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of interprovincial trade. The PPP’s governor in Peshawar has called the restrictions a “serious breach of national unity” and the KP Assembly has passed a resolution denouncing Punjab’s actions. Sindh, too, is alarmed. That this is fast morphing into a political fault line is deeply worrying.

Indeed, restrictions on interprovincial wheat movement out of fear of shortages are not new. We saw this most recently in 2020, 2022 and 2023, when shortages forced provincial curbs and triggered nationwide turmoil. This time, however, Punjab’s retreat from its traditional role as market stabiliser by annually procuring and stocking over four million tonnes is said to have deepened the market’s fragility. Oscillating between its desire to manage retail flour prices and the loss of leverage as the country’s biggest wheat buyer, Punjab seems to have little choice but to quietly curb the outflows — a move driven by a sharp spike in flour rates in recent weeks. Yet the restrictions have failed to prevent prices from surging within Punjab itself. The policy’s lack of foresight is evident: not only has the ban undermined the spirit of the federation, it has also fuelled hoarding. Furthermore, it has rattled business confidence. Investors who were encouraged to finance bulk wheat procurement are baffled by the government’s sudden intervention in what is supposed to be a deregulated market. The crisis stems from half-baked reforms aimed at deregulating the wheat market without ensuring that it did not create price arbitrage for profiteers in the wheat-deficit provinces. Because these changes disproportionately affect the smaller provinces, the situation warrants urgent discussion at the CCI to push genuine market liberalisation and shield consumers outside Punjab. Enduring market stability demands a consistent policy that not only safeguards consumers but also ensures that private investment in wheat procurement and warehousing is not undermined.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2025

Silent spread

PAKISTAN is losing momentum in its fight against polio. This year, 26 cases of wild poliovirus have been confirmed, most of them in KP, with smaller numbers in Sindh, Punjab and GB. While the count may not be as high as last year’s 74, environmental surveillance tells a troubling tale. In August, out of 126 sewage samples tested from 87 districts, 51 were positive — a 40pc positivity rate. In Sindh, 24 of 29 samples, or more than 80pc, carried the virus. The figures that make the headlines are only the surface; the silent spread should worry us far more.

After three decades of door-to-door campaigns, eradication fatigue is evident. Communities have grown weary, refusals are climbing, and misinformation thrives. But conspiracy theories are only part of the problem. A government that cannot provide clean water, reliable clinics or decent schools struggles to persuade parents to trust a vaccine. Polio has become a measure of state legitimacy. Climate disasters have added new complications. Floods and displacement have left millions unsettled. Migrant families in makeshift shelters are among the hardest to reach. Those excluded from vaccination are often the same children denied education and healthcare. The virus flourishes in these gaps of inequity. Meanwhile, vaccinators still face danger. In September three were kidnapped in Tank, underscoring the risks borne by front-line staff. Exhausting, high-pressure drives under the threat of violence are unsustainable. The costs are global as well as domestic. The virus now lingers in just Pakistan, besides Afghanistan. Each case chips away at billions already spent and risks renewed travel restrictions or donor fatigue. The world’s patience is not infinite. Polio can still be beaten, but not by drops alone. Pakistan needs to rebuild trust, fold vaccination into broader healthcare, and link eradication to climate recovery. Unless the state can protect its citizens and win back confidence, the ‘last mile’ may prove to be a never-ending road.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2025