Dawn Editorials 2nd September 2025

Society scrutiny

THE ongoing floods, which have swept away homes and livelihoods across vast swathes of the country, have once again highlighted the perils of unchecked development. Many families have seen their life savings buried under mud and debris simply because housing societies were allowed to spring up in places where they should never have been allowed to build. The question is not only why their construction was permitted, but also why a nexus between the land mafia and regulators seems to thrive. The rot runs very deep. Pakistan’s real estate sector has for years functioned with minimal regulatory or legal oversight, leaving even those who purchase land in ostensibly safe areas vulnerable to financial ruin. Unscrupulous developers routinely defraud citizens, while regulators, whose primary task is to protect the public, often look the other way or feign ignorance.

Take the federal capital, for instance. A recent report has revealed that the Capital Development Authority has known since February 2024 that housing scheme sponsors have not been sharing allotment records through a digital platform, as it had mandated the previous year. This requirement was meant to ensure that the CDA could verify transfer letters and restrict approvals to plots within CDA-approved plans. Yet, despite recognising the risks to buyers, the authority has failed to act. The result has been fraudulent practices, such as over-invoicing and the ‘sale’ of a single property to multiple buyers, even in the country’s most regulated city. If this is the situation in Islamabad, one can only imagine the vulnerabilities faced elsewhere. It is clear that the state has abdicated its duty to protect citizens and their property. Until regulators are compelled to enforce their own rules, and until illegal and fraudulent practices are met with real consequences, the public remains exposed to exploitation. The authorities can no longer afford to ignore an industry that affects millions of families. Strict action is needed.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025

Looming Glofs

THE Met Office’s latest high-priority alert for glacial lake outburst floods in Gilgit-Baltistan ought to jolt the authorities into action. Rising temperatures, well above normal, are accelerating glacier melt, threatening sudden deluges in valleys including Darkut, Hisper, Hopar, Ghundus and Gulkin. For GB’s residents, this is more than a forecast: it is a frightening prospect of yet more loss. In recent weeks, a glacier burst in Ghizer district displaced over 3,000 people, destroyed more than 200 houses, and severed critical road links. Entire villages had to flee, saved only by the quick thinking of a shepherd who raised the alarm in time. In Danyor, seven volunteers were buried alive while repairing water channels damaged by earlier floods. Such events have shown that when disaster strikes, ordinary citizens are the first responders, while the state arrives late, if at all. Pakistan has not lacked resources or projects. Donor-backed initiatives such as Glof-II promised early warning systems, resilient infrastructure and community preparedness. Yet, the same mistakes are made every year. Relief is delayed, coordination between agencies is weak, roads and bridges are rebuilt only to collapse with the next flood and local knowledge is sidelined. After each tragedy, officials offer condolences and compensation cheques, but lasting preparedness remains elusive.

This time must be different. Authorities in GB cannot wait for rivers to burst their banks before acting. Evacuation plans should be in place, safe shelters identified and relief supplies stockpiled. Search-and-rescue teams must also be pre-deployed in vulnerable valleys, ready to move immediately rather than hours later. Communities must be kept informed with timely, clear warnings, not vague advisories. Volunteers need proper training and protective equipment, not reliance on their bravery alone. Infrastructure must be reinforced, not patched up with stopgap fixes. Above all, accountability is essential: funds earmarked for disaster management must be transparently audited and publicly disclosed, so citizens can see whether promises are matched by actual delivery. GB’s glaciers will continue to melt given our ever-warming climate. But while Glofs are inevitable, repeated human failures are not. The people of GB deserve more than sympathy after the fact; they deserve a government that takes their peril seriously. If this warning too is allowed to pass without action, it will not be nature alone that is to blame for the devastation to come.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025

Tianjin summit

THE SCO’s two-day summit, which concluded in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Monday, offered a glimpse into a more multilateral world; where sovereign nations can come together as equals, breaking away from the West-led, Eurocentric model that has prevailed since the end of World War II, and which is currently under severe strain.

It also offered a forum where bilateral disputes and diverging viewpoints can be addressed and accommodated through a multilateral lens. For example, the Tianjin Declaration condemned the terrorist attacks targeting the Jaffar Express and in Khuzdar, along with the Pahalgam episode, signalling that condemnation of militancy should not be selective, and terrorism in all its forms should be shunned.

This is also a validation of Pakistan’s narrative, as this country has been denouncing the Pahalgam attack from the beginning, while also calling for hostile foreign actors to desist from supporting terrorist violence within its borders. It also suggests that certain states’ efforts to isolate Pakistan internationally have failed.

Additionally, the declaration called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza while highlighting the “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the besieged Strip and denouncing the US-Israel aggression against Iran.

The fact is that any emerging multilateral order must be based on justice and international law. All those who violate these basic principles must be censured, unlike the present system, where perceived enemies face the full force of the law, as well as military aggression, while friends literally get away with murder. Israel’s ongoing genocide in the occupied territories is the most glaring example of this hypocrisy.

The West, primarily the US and its European/Nato allies, are highly suspicious of groupings such as the SCO and Brics, mainly because they challenge their entrenched hegemony on world affairs. Moreover, Western states are loath to see their ‘foes’ such as Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian being accorded full protocol. They should remember that many of them treat Benjamin Netanyahu with even more reverence despite his criminal acts. Russia and China, which are currently leading the push towards a more multilateral global order, may not be perfect examples to emulate. But unlike the West, they are seen to support a more equitable world system, where the Global South has a voice.

Countries like Pakistan must take full advantage of the emerging regional and global formations. However, one set of global hegemons must not be replaced by another. Rather, a just new order is required where the social, economic and political rights of all states are respected. The future need not be one of confrontation between SCO/BRICS and the Western bloc, but of cooperation, where the path to progress has no strings attached.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025