Dawn Editorials 4th September 2025

Kalabagh again

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s support for the dead Kalabagh dam project has stirred up a storm. His endorsement of the dam runs contrary to popular public opinion not just in Sindh and Balochistan but also in his own province.

Ostensibly contingent on addressing provincial reservations to the controversial hydropower project on the Indus, his support for the dam — opposed by the provincial assemblies of Sindh, KP and Balochistan in the not so distant past — has baffled his own party as well. PTI leaders from KP and Sindh quickly disowned his statements. Asad Qaiser said that Mr Gandapur’s statement did not reflect the party’s policy. “The party has always made it clear that there should not be any controversial project. At the moment, there is a need to strengthen the federation,” he said. Haleem Adil Sheikh called the proposal a “dead horse”, which the PTI never supported. The PPP, through Nisar Khuhro, reminded Mr Gandapur that three provinces had already closed the door on Kalabagh.

The irony, however, is that the PML-N’s government in Punjab — often viewed by other federating units as the force behind the project — found itself in rare agreement with Mr Gandapur, with its information minister rushing to countersign the CM’s reckless grandstanding on behalf of her party. It exposes deep provincial fault lines: what is seen as a necessity in Punjab is viewed as a sell-out by the other provinces.

Mr Gandapur’s support for the Kalabagh dam comes on the heels of a plea from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during a recent visit to flood-hit Narowal district, for a consensus on new water reservoirs to fight the challenges of climate change and deal with the recurring floods.

While the move to bring up Kalabagh dam again risks opening old wounds, the cry for new reservoirs underpins how deeply our power elites are stuck in old, redundant concepts. As if we needed it, the effort to revive a defunct project is proof that our rulers are not capable of thinking beyond brick-and-mortar solutions to our worsening climate challenges. Is this because of lack of imagination or due to the massive money involved in such schemes, or both?

Pakistan, which is among the top 10 countries most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, desperately needs solutions to its problems of water shortages and droughts, devastating floods, erosion of the Indus delta, which is displacing local communities, and so on. These issues cannot be resolved by stopping the river flows through dams.

At a time when Pakistan needs unity more than ever, with floods wreaking devastation in several parts of the country and an economy on the brink, it is crucial that our rulers started to think beyond brick-and-mortar structures — if, indeed, they want to solve our increasing climate-related challenges.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025

A new threat

THE deadly suicide bombing targeting a BNP-M meeting in Quetta on Tuesday has exposed a lethal new actor involved in Balochistan’s violence: the presence of the self-styled Islamic State group in the province, which reportedly claimed the attack. This further complicates a situation where Baloch separatists and to a lesser degree, the TTP, are already involved in acts of terrorism. At least 15 people were confirmed dead in the attack, while BNP-M head Akhtar Mengal, PkMAP leader Mehmood Achakzai and other political leaders remained unhurt. It is shocking that a suicide bomber was able to carry out the atrocity at the site of a mass meeting where the province’s leading political figures were gathered. As per the authorities, reports were circulating that terrorists would target the meeting. Mr Mengal and his party were also targeted earlier this year when they were taking out a rally in Mastung in March. Balochistan has witnessed widespread militant violence this year, with major attacks including the Jaffar Express ambush in March and the Khuzdar school bus bombing in May. Security forces have also been targeted in numerous incidents; the latest attack occurred on Tuesday when five security men were martyred in an IED blast in Kech.

These facts, particularly the emergence of IS as a ‘player’ in Balochistan’s milieu of militancy, indicate that a fresh security strategy for the province is required to deal with separatist violence as well as religiously inspired violent actors. In this context, civilian events — political, religious etc — should be given the same security cover as military ones. Observers say there is a threat to upcoming Rabiul Awwal celebrations in the province, therefore the state must redouble its efforts to provide security to these events. Yet in the long run, as this paper has previously argued, a militarised approach to security in Balochistan alone will not produce lasting results. While violent elements must be neutralised, particularly IS and the TTP, and their supporters — internal and external — exposed, these operations must be complemented by facilitating the political process in the province, so that credible political forces, with roots in the masses, can contribute to peace by helping quell the separatist insurgency. Where the involvement of IS is concerned, this fresh threat must be nipped in the bud before it mutates into a monster.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025

Unkept promises

GERMANY’S announcement that it is considering the cases of Afghans deported from Pakistan is a welcome gesture at a time when many nations have chosen to turn their backs on those they once pledged to protect. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that commitments made by previous German governments will be honoured — a stance that deserves recognition, even if it has come late. After the Afghan Taliban retook Kabul in August 2021, several Western countries — including the US, UK, Canada, Germany and Australia — launched programmes to resettle Afghans who had assisted their missions or who faced grave risks, such as journalists, lawyers, judges and human rights defenders. Tens of thousands left their homes in desperation, some arriving in Pakistan, trusting they would soon be relocated. Many have, instead, found themselves in limbo for years, stranded by slow bureaucracies, shifting immigration policies and waning political will in host countries. Pakistan, which has hosted Afghans for decades despite its own economic and security strains, recently began deporting thousands of undocumented Afghans, including those who had been waiting for visas to Western countries. This has placed people directly back in harm’s way. The Taliban view them as traitors. Reprisals can mean arbitrary detention, abduction, torture or death. For women professionals and rights activists, the danger is even greater, as their very visibility makes them targets.

Germany at least appears willing to honour its word. But others have faltered: Britain’s resettlement schemes remain paralysed by delays and legal wrangling; Canada has struggled to meet its intake pledges, citing logistical hurdles; and the US still faces a vast backlog of unprocessed special visas. There is no question of the moral responsibility these countries have. To abandon them now is to condemn them to persecution and rob Afghanistan of a better future. These people cannot afford more inaction. Their very survival is at stake.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025