DAWN Editorials 20th August 2026

Beyond jingoism

UNABLE to come to terms with both its military and narrative failures during and after the May 2025 hostilities with Pakistan, the Indian state continues to flog a dead horse by trying to depict loss as success.

The latest example of this is a new documentary released in India titled Declassified: Operation Sindoor. The film tries to paint the clash as an Indian victory, relying more on revisionism and fantasy than what actually transpired across the battlespace. Pakistan’s military spokesman has termed it a “Bollywood-style” production and a “mutilation of history”.

It should be remembered that the majority of Indian media outlets during the conflict had resorted to high-pitched jingoism, reporting that key cities in Pakistan had been ‘conquered’ and ‘devastated’ by the Indians. It mattered little that these preposterous claims had nothing to do with reality. The new documentary appears to me a more ‘polished’ attempt at regurgitating the same narrative.

Instead of pouring its energies into demonising Pakistan and conjuring up phantom victories, the Indian state would be better off trying to mend fences for a secure future for all of South Asia. Very few outside India’s corridors of power are buying the narrative about an Indian ‘victory’ during last year’s clash, just as there have been few takers for the spurious claim peddled by New Delhi that Pakistan was responsible for the Pahalgam atrocity.

Neutral observers paint a more nuanced picture of the confrontation, pointing to Pakistan’s clear successes in countering Indian air attacks. No respectable third party has endorsed claims of an Indian ‘victory’. But facts, it seems, matter little to the BJP-led government in New Delhi, which insists on manufacturing fantastical accounts of the May war. It forgets that many Indian politicians themselves have questioned their government’s tall claims regarding the clash.

There is a need for India to move beyond such narrow perspectives and look to the future. The fires of war are raging not very far from South Asia, and both states, particularly India, should redouble their efforts to bring calm to the subcontinent, instead of stoking tensions. New Delhi’s toxic jingoism and military misadventures have backfired. It is time for India to return to the diplomatic track, and approach Pakistan with respect.

Tens of millions in South Asia continue to suffer from poverty, disease and illiteracy. Climate change is a common enemy — smog and natural disasters do not respect borders. While it would be simplistic to assume that both states will bury the hatchet immediately, at least the first steps can be taken towards normalisation. These should include the return of high commissioners to both capitals, and a pledge to restart the dialogue process to address all outstanding irritants standing in the way of better ties.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026

A local address

GOOGLE has opened its doors in Islamabad. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated the company’s first office in Pakistan, welcoming a delegation led by its vice president for government affairs, Wilson White. For a firm that has operated here for years through remote regional staff but never a physical presence, having a plaque on an Islamabad wall is a genuine milestone. It should be welcomed. But those watching should not get too excited. It needs to be understood that what was inaugurated on Tuesday is, first, a channel for engagement with the state. The title of the visiting official should have given that away. Google seems to be acting in response to the government’s ambition of a $30bn IT export target, as it aligns neatly with its own claim of having supported hundreds of thousands of jobs here over the past decade. In time, the new relationship may bring localised infrastructure, cloud support and AI training that officials are counting on. For now, however, it seems that officials are more keen on impressing Pakistan’s ‘specific circumstances’ on Google officials, and securing greater cooperation on security-related matters. This was the focus of a high-level meeting between the minister of state for interior and senior Google executives the very next day.

Pakistani developers, publishers and start-ups have long struggled to resolve account and monetisation disputes with Google, with a company representative usually reachable only by email to another time zone. A local presence may ease some of that friction, but it is too early to say. For publishers, advertisers and creators, Google is also the gatekeeper which controls how their work is found, how it is monetised, and also how it is absorbed into AI systems which are taking news readership away. Around the world, this is currently the subject of much litigation and bargaining. Pakistani publishers, too, need an opportunity to engage directly with Google on this matter. Meanwhile, the state should resist congratulating itself. A foreign giant’s office counts for little if the government keeps throttling bandwidth and restricting the internet on which its own export targets depend. The freelancers that ministers keep celebrating lose contracts every time the connection drops. Google’s arrival is a vote of confidence, and may encourage others to look harder at a young, underserved market. That is reason for optimism. It is not, on its own, reason for celebration.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026

Battery economy

THE government’s decision to develop standards for lithium-ion vehicle batteries is a positive step. As Pakistan moves towards electric mobility, the initiative could support the emergence of a domestic battery industry and create jobs in battery assembly and related services. Several EV assemblers are interested in working on battery assembly or cell manufacturing. This suggests that an ecosystem can begin to develop around the fast-growing EV market here. There is, however, an important distinction between building a battery industry and establishing a genuinely local battery manufacturing industry. Pakistan currently lacks most of the raw materials, technology and upstream industrial capacity required to manufacture lithium-ion cells at scale. Hence, much of what may initially be described as local manufacturing is likely to be battery-pack assembly using imported cells and other components. Assembly can generate employment and technological capabilities, but it should not be mistaken for complete localisation.

This is why we should think beyond the immediate goal of assembling batteries and invest seriously in battery recycling and the wider circular economy. As the country’s EVs, two- and three-wheelers, buses and stationary energy storage systems expand, a large number of batteries will reach the end of their first life. Pakistan should build the capacity to recover valuable materials. This could address the absence of domestic raw materials. Battery recycling should be viewed as a strategic investment, not merely an environmental initiative. The government should encourage investment in recycling plants, establish standards for collection and safe dismantling, introduce extended producer-responsibility rules and incentivise investors to participate in take-back schemes. It should also promote technologies to recover lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, graphite and other valuable materials. The long-term goal should be a circular battery economy: importing batteries and materials initially, assembling them locally, recovering materials from spent batteries and feeding them back into domestic production.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026