Dawn Editorials 22nd September 2025

No more inaction

WORLD leaders are making their way to New York as the 80th session of the UN General Assembly kicks off this week. Among other global crises, the Gaza genocide will top the agenda.

Yet it will be a massive disappointment if the global elite continue to simply offer their condolences to the besieged people of Gaza, instead of coming up with solid plans to end Israel’s butchery. The international community’s track record in this regard is quite poor, but the UNGA session offers a chance for the comity of nations to help end the slaughter.

As these lines were being written Israel was busy exterminating the population of Gaza City. Half a million Palestinians have reportedly been ethnically cleansed from the area, told to ‘leave’ by the Israeli military. But there is nowhere to go, as even overcrowded ‘safe zones’ in the occupied Strip are not safe from Israel’s predatory behaviour.

The paralysis of the international community, including the UN, is astounding, as states have been unable to take any punitive steps against Israel. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is that the US, the world’s most powerful country, is Israel’s biggest defender on the world stage. Last week, the US vetoed for the sixth time — since the Gaza offensive began — a ceasefire resolution at the UNSC.

Moreover, Washington has blocked or revoked visas for the Palestinian delegation, which means that President Mahmoud Abbas will have to address the UN by video link. Apparently, the US administration is not just against Hamas, it is actually against Palestine and its people. This is not surprising, as many within the Trump administration are virulent Zionists, willing to put everything on the line to defend Israeli crimes.

The UNGA session will provide states with a conscience to censure Israel for its crimes, and resist American bullying by expressing solidarity with Palestine. Let us see who is willing to do the right thing.

Suffice to say, impassioned speeches and flourishes of rhetoric will not end the Gaza genocide. Only an actionable plan to stop Israel’s butchery can work.

If the US intends on paralysing the Security Council through its veto, let the global majority use UNGA as a stage to send a strong message on Gaza. This can be done by endorsing a resolution to isolate Israel diplomatically and economically — along with enforcing an arms embargo — until Tel Aviv commits to a ceasefire.

Feeble critiques of Israel will not stop it; it will only embolden Israel to cause even more havoc in the occupied territories, as well as the larger region. Therefore, UNGA must speak with one voice: Israel must immediately end the holocaust in Gaza, and those responsible for the Palestinian genocide must face justice.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2025

Troubling directive

THE Balochistan government’s latest notification obliging families to report if their relatives have gone missing or joined militant groups raises serious questions about rights, responsibilities and the state’s own record. Under the directive, citizens must file reports with the police or security agencies within seven days and, in cases where individuals are found to have joined militant outfits, submit sworn affidavits disowning them. Failure to comply would mean facing the full force of antiterrorism laws, including being labelled abettors or facilitators, with the possibility of property confiscation and denial of state services. This is an extraordinary shift in legal responsibility. Families already traumatised by the disappearance of loved ones are now expected to prove their innocence by effectively disowning them. The presumption underlying the order is troubling: it treats every household as a potential accomplice to terrorism, rather than recognising families as citizens with rights to privacy, dignity and due process. Such a measure also risks silencing those who might otherwise come forward to seek information about their missing relatives, fearing that doing so will invite state reprisal or suspicion. For years, Balochistan has grappled with the crisis of enforced disappearances. Commissions have been formed, reports issued, and governments have repeatedly promised redress, yet the families’ cries for justice have gone largely unheard. Against this backdrop, to now demand that families submit affidavits disowning their sons or brothers is to deepen the climate of mistrust. Instead of offering protection, the state appears to be shifting blame onto those already most vulnerable, and widening the gap between people and institutions.

Security concerns in the province are undeniable, and no one can deny the devastating toll of militancy. The state has a duty to curb violence and dismantle networks that threaten citizens’ lives. But that obligation cannot be met by eroding fundamental rights or by compelling families to act as extensions of the intelligence apparatus. Accountability for militancy lies with individuals, not with entire households, and certainly not through coerced declarations of disownment. If the government wishes to build trust in Balochistan, it must pursue justice transparently, strengthen investigative capacity, and uphold the law without collective punishment. Only by respecting rights can it begin to heal the province’s wounds. Turning families into suspects will only alienate them further — and make reconciliation all the more elusive.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2025

Listening to survivors

THE profane curse of brutalising children is back in the news. The Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights has examined reports of torture, sexual abuse and corporal punishment at religious seminaries in Punjab, Sindh and KP, and demanded robust child protection measures, particularly in educational facilities. The panel has emphasised that child safety is the state’s most crucial obligation. It has also decried the absence of registration, financial transparency, regular inspections of institutions and the long overdue ban on corporal punishment. The National Commission on the Rights of Child’s State of Children in Pakistan Report 2024 scanned the grim circumstances faced by Pakistani children: the first half of 2024 registered 862 child abuse cases, 668 abduction cases, 82 incidents of missing children, 48 of pornography after sexual abuse and 18 cases of child marriage.

At the heart of the children’s misery lies the state’s failure to fix administrative flaws and a twisted dismissal of child rights. Perilous environments cannot be met with lassitude anymore. Safe learning settings, a trained front-line force to rescue children in high-risk situations, frequent parent-teacher interaction, monitoring and raising awareness among families to break the cycle of abuse are clear solutions. Child rights define humane societies. Childhood trauma means lifelong susceptibility to mental illness, drug use, stress and compromised productivity. Individuals also lose the ability to adjust emotional reactions towards people and scenarios. Lawmakers must keep pace with the scale of the scourge and legislate to bring seminaries under education boards to ensure transparency. Children can only have agency, respect and safety with improved prosecution and higher conviction rates, along with mental health support. Pakistan, as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, cannot afford its current downward trajectory, and must lend an ear to child victims.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2025