Dawn Editorials 2nd October 2025

Flawed scheme

IT appears that the leaders of the Muslim world have been played by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. Though many Muslim governments, including our own, initially welcomed the 20-point Gaza ‘peace’ plan, when the reality of what it articulates — Palestinian surrender, Israeli impunity, colonial control of Gaza — dawned on them, clarifications began to pour in.

As per media reports, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu made changes to the plan that were not included in the original scheme, which US President Trump had discussed with the leaders of several Muslim states in New York last week. Perhaps that is why Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had to clarify on Tuesday that “this is not our document”, despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s initial euphoria. Other Muslim states, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye, have similarly been caught off guard by the American-Israeli sleight of hand. Reportedly, the Qataris asked the US to hold off on announcing the plan, a request that Washington clearly spurned.

If reports of Israeli tinkering with the plan are true — the contents of this atrocious deal leave little room for doubt on that count — then the Muslim world must ask itself some important questions.

For one, how was Israel able to alter a deal that several Muslim states had already agreed to, and why did the US let it happen? Secondly, how was the plan finalised, with little to no input from the Palestinians — the party most affected by Israel’s brutal violence? The plan effectively neutralises Hamas, and puts the Palestinian Authority in its place, until it begs Israel for forgiveness and atones for its ‘sins’. If the two biggest Palestinian parties are excluded from the deal, who will run Gaza? Will the Palestinian ‘technocrats’, who are supposed to administer the occupied Strip, have to swear an oath of fealty to Israel, and forever denounce aspirations of a viable Palestinian state? That is the feeling that emerges after reading this embarrassment of a document.

Furthermore, there is no mention of a clear roadmap towards a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, only vague language about a “credible pathway”.

The fact is that there is nothing credible about this plan, and its chances of success are close to zero. Reports indicate that Hamas is unlikely to accept it, while there have even been rumblings of discontent within Fatah. Mr Trump has promised a “very sad end” in case Hamas rejects the scheme. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to pummel the civilians of Gaza as Hamas’s response is awaited; this shows how ‘committed’ Tel Aviv is to peace. If and when this charade collapses, Muslim leaders must ask themselves what they got in return for placing blind faith in America and Israel.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025

Disturbing spat

THE escalation in the ongoing spat between coalition allies, the PML-N and PPP, over Punjab’s controversial canal projects and flood relief is fast dragging the country back into the era of corrosive politics. It is reviving divisive interprovincial tensions that Pakistan, which is already grappling with resurging militancy, political instability and a faltering economy, can ill afford. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s defence of the planned canals, aimed at shoring up her party’s strength in the province and aligning its interests with the powers that be, is a throwback to her father Nawaz Sharif’s brand of politics anchored in a parochialism that helped him dominate the provincial political landscape in the 1980s and beyond. Her rhetoric that if Punjab builds canals with its water, it was no one else’s concern, together with her threat to ‘confront’ Sindh’s leaders at their doorsteps if they opposed Punjab’s development, is a sign that the PML-N is reverting to its old narrative in order to recover lost political ground in the province.

Ms Nawaz’s strategy may deliver short-term political gains for her party but it will come at a huge cost to the fragile federation. The PML-N’s relations with the PPP are going downhill as witnessed in parliament on Tuesday. The country cannot afford to stir up interprovincial tensions, particularly on the sensitive and historically contested issue of water rights on the Indus. The fact that the federal government has already agreed to suspend the canal projects until a consensus is reached at the Council of Common Interests underscores just how volatile the issue is. To press ahead regardless — and to perceive Sindh’s concerns as meddling in Punjab’s development — risks aggravating the long-standing distrust between the provinces. Equally troubling is the manner in which flood relief in Punjab has become a political battleground. The PPP’s call to route aid to the flood-affected communities through the Benazir Income Support Programme — because of its reach and infrastructure — may not have been the most pragmatic option for ensuring timely relief, especially to completely cover the flood losses. Yet, dismissing the suggestion as political interference is hardly the response expected from someone who many in the PML-N view as a potential candidate to represent Pakistan’s diverse population as chief executive someday. She must realise that her strategy of stoking regressive middle-class nationalist passions can one day come back to haunt her.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025

Hate on the streets

YET another ugly episode of intolerance has been recorded in Sialkot, where a mob attacked members of the Ahmadi community, torching property, including shops and vehicles. The attack left several injured. The immediate trigger — opposition to the burial of an Ahmadi woman in a decades-old graveyard — is a reminder of how easily faith-based prejudice can descend into organised violence. That activists of a religious party could mobilise with guns, batons and petrol, and unleash such destruction, is alarming, yes, but also depressingly familiar. In recent years, Pakistan has witnessed similar eruptions of bigotry against vulnerable communities. Churches and Christian neighbourhoods in Jaranwala were torched two years ago after allegations of blasphemy. Incidents of harassment of the Hindu community in Sindh have also been witnessed. Ahmadis, in particular, have long faced attacks on their places of worship, graves and businesses. Each time, the script remains the same: an inflamed crowd, a handful of ringleaders urging violence, and police standing by until the damage is done.

Such impunity entrenches the belief that mobs can act above the law. Arrests are often made in the immediate aftermath, as in Sialkot, but prosecutions seldom follow through, and leaders who incite violence are rarely penalised. This failure emboldens those who exploit religion, deepening divisions in society. The onus lies squarely on the state. Without fear or favour, the state must come down heavily on those who participate in and orchestrate mob violence. The law has been invoked — it must now be pursued to its logical conclusion, with convictions and deterrent punishments. Anything short of this will signal weakness, suggesting the state is either unwilling or unable to protect its citizens. Pakistan cannot hope to build communal harmony or international credibility while its minorities live in fear of the next mob attack. The state’s responsibility is clear: protect every citizen, equally and resolutely.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2025