Dawn Editorials 5th October 2025

Reserved seats debacle

THE shadow cast by the Commonwealth Observer Group’s final report on the last general election has loomed large over Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue this week. The COG finally published the much-delayed report on Sept 30, 2025, some 19 months after the February 2024 general election. No reasonable explanation was forthcoming as to why there was such a delay in issuing it to the public. There has been criticism that the delay in publishing the report may have something to do with the COG giving the government a chance to save face, especially considering its contents. They confirm that the polls were held in “conditions which appeared to limit fundamental political rights and impacted one party’s ability to fairly contest the election”. Among other objections, the COG chairperson has noted “with concern a number of factors in the pre-election period that significantly impacted the level playing field, most crucially the non-allocation of the bat symbol to PTI and the registering of PTI candidates as independents”.

These two issues featured again in the news a couple of days later, when the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench issued its detailed verdict justifying why it had annulled an earlier attempt by a 13-member bench to provide redressal for the denial of an electoral symbol to the PTI and forced characterisation of its lawmakers as ‘independents’. The Constitutional Bench seems to have relied heavily on one technicality: that the PTI was never before it seeking justice, but the SIC was. On this basis, a smaller bench has overturned the verdict issued by a larger one. The court appears to have ensured that the election result will remain unchanged no matter what observers think of the freeness and fairness of the exercise. It is unfortunate that the apex court has endorsed the February 2024 electoral exercise, especially with nonpartisan criticism that it was violative of the principles of justice.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2025

Pension bill

BY slashing its contribution to its employees’ pension benefits to 12pc of their pensionable pay from the 20pc it had initially proposed under the new defined, contributory scheme, the centre has ensured significant long-term savings for itself. Employees will continue to chip in 10pc of their pensionable pay. Some might suggest that the savings are being made at the expense of the federal employees’ financial security post retirement. Yet the step was a necessary evil to reduce the ballooning pension liabilities even if its benefits will not fully materialise for the next few decades. If anything, the mandatory insurance to employees for death and disability offers some consolation, shielding their families from an uncertain future. The contributory pension scheme that replaces the traditional open-ended mechanism, which places the entire burden of retirement benefits on the budget, marks the most consequential shift in how the government takes care of its superannuated employees without risking its fiscal sustainability. The new scheme is applicable to federal civil employees hired on or after July 1 last year and military personnel recruited from the start of the current fiscal year.

The change was pushed through on the demand of multilateral lenders to rein in the pension bill that has become a serious fiscal risk. The federal pension alone has jumped 29pc in just two years to an estimated Rs1.055tr in 2024-25 from Rs821bn. The armed forces’ share surged 32pc to Rs742bn compared to the 6.6pc rise in civilian pensions to Rs228bn. Given the size of military pensions, the real benefits to the exchequer will remain elusive until the scheme is actually implemented, according to the timeline. The enforcement of the reform for the defence personnel was reportedly delayed following Pakistan’s brief but intense war with India in May. That said, left unchecked, overall these liabilities would continue to crowd out essential spending on development and public services. With the scheme limited to new entrants to the federal employee pool, it effectively leaves existing, unsustainable pension liabilities untouched. It means real savings for the exchequer will only show up decades down the line after the liquidation of previously accumulated, undefined liabilities. In the meantime, the government must continue to foot the bulging pension payouts for existing retirees, a liability that will weigh heavily on the budget for years to come.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2025

Fragile pause

ANY halt in the genocide unfolding in Gaza is welcome.

After nearly two years of relentless bombardment, the prospect of a truce — following Hamas’s conditional acceptance of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which includes releasing all hostages and handing Gaza’s administration to a technocratic Palestinian body, and Israel’s readiness to implement its first phase — offers a sliver of hope.

For a population living amid mass displacement, collapsed infrastructure, and the loss of over 66,000 lives, even a pause in the violence carries meaning. Yet history teaches that such truces often collapse under Israel’s obstinacy. If this opening is to amount to more than a tactical lull, it must be anchored in lasting commitments.

The Netanyahu government has already signalled it will calibrate operations rather than halt them outright. Reports from Gaza confirm bombardment continuing despite Mr Trump’s demand for Israel to “immediately stop bombing.”

Mr Trump has also set Hamas a deadline, warning that if it fails to accept the deal by Sunday night, “all hell” will break out. Such ultimatums underscore both the fragility of the moment and the dangers of coercion in a process that should prioritise justice and peace. Israel is notorious for backtracking once international attention drifts. This time must be different.

The guarantors of the truce — Washington, Arab capitals, and the UN — must ensure commitments are not quietly abandoned, and that violations invite consequences. Without sustained pressure, Tel Aviv has little incentive to comply beyond exchanging hostages for prisoners.

Accountability cannot be sacrificed for expedience. According to Gaza’s health ministry, more than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023 — figures the UN considers credible. That most of the dead are women and children underscores the monstrous scale of Israel’s actions. International law obliges states to investigate such crimes.

If there is no accountability for the massacre of tens of thousands, peace will rest on sand, and impunity will pave the way for repetition. Equally central is Gaza’s future. The blockade that has strangled the Strip for nearly two decades must be permanently lifted. Aid convoys cannot replace the right of Palestinians to move freely, rebuild homes, and recover their economy. Without freedom of movement, Gaza remains an open-air prison.

In the end, no ‘technocratic committee’ or transitional board will address the root cause. Only a two-state solution, long sabotaged by Israeli settlement expansion, can provide dignity and security. Yet Israel’s leadership has already said it does not accept Palestinian statehood, pledging to retain “security control” while denying Palestinians sovereignty.

Unless Palestinians are granted the means to build a viable state, violence will recur. This fragile pause may offer a chance. But unless it is built on accountability, freedom, and self-determination, it will remain just that — a pause before the next round of devastation.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2025