DAWN Editorials 8th September 2026

Redrawing the map

IT has been quite something to watch a whisper become, in a matter of weeks, the state’s new “number one priority”. The trigger was the interior minister’s surprising admission at the Pakistan Economic Summit in late July that the present system had “collapsed”, and that new provinces and administrative reform were therefore urgently needed.

The political earthquake was immediate. For the PPP, already fuming over the AJK election, it was an insult added to injury. The president’s abrupt departure for London has since fed a good deal of speculation. Some believe that he went to press his allies in government to drop the idea altogether. Others have pointed out that his exit echoes another, years ago, when the PPP was being asked to make choices it considered political suicide. What can be said with certainty, however, is that an impasse has been reached.

The president had met the interior minister in London. Their interaction was recorded and shown in the media. It does not seem to have gone fruitfully. On his return, the minister doubled down on the need for new administrative units. The PPP answered with a Sindh Assembly resolution rejecting new provinces, and with speeches declaring “no compromise” on the province’s geographical unity.

The Sindh Assembly resolution deserves much more attention than it received given the implications for the drive for more provinces. Under Article 239(4) of the Constitution, the limits of a province cannot be altered unless the amendment is first passed by that province’s own assembly by a two-thirds majority. Sindh seems to have made its position plain by, at least symbolically, vetoing the proposal before it arrived at its door.

Before the country is dragged through another ugly crisis, those pushing for new provinces must explain how they intend to clear the bar set by the Constitution. They should also share what the new assemblies, secretariats and offices will cost, and where the money is to come from when citizens’ own pockets are already empty. There is no question that Pakistan needs better administrative management, but the stated end of restructuring — ie, better service delivery at the grassroots — is already provided for in Article 140A, and could be achieved far more cheaply by reviving, resourcing and actually holding elections for local governments.

Here, the political parties also share blame. They have spent decades hollowing out the LG system and alienating the citizenry. Any party that is unwilling to empower even a district council should not be arguing that the province is the only unit that matters. Therefore, though the LG system remains a less politically toxic option, it will only be considered an option if the political parties themselves make a renewed commitment to it. This is something they, too, must understand.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026

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ONCE again, the government is preparing to repeat an experiment that has cost consumers dearly. The sugar industry claims a surplus of 1.03m tonnes and wants immediate export permission. The government should resist until it has independently verified that figure. It cannot let the industry set both numbers and policy. There is good reason for scepticism. The Sugar Inquiry Commission documented export subsidies, alleged supply manipulation, underreporting and heavy windfall profits. The Competition Commission found evidence of price fixing among millers and later imposed penalties. Neither inquiry produced convictions or structural reforms, and the same mills accused of manipulation are setting the surplus number the government is being asked to accept. The latest episode is instructive. The government authorised roughly 750,000 tonnes of exports after declaring domestic supplies sufficient last year. Retail prices soon crossed Rs180 per kilo, and authorities had to arrange imports. The state pockets export earnings when supplies look plentiful, spending those on imports, and makes consumers absorb the cost when calculations are wrong.

This cannot happen again. Officials must independently reconcile production, stocks, consumption, exports, next year’s expected output and grower payments at the mill level before authorising shipments. A mishandled surplus could depress cane prices and hurt farmers. An overstated one could trigger shortages, inflation and another costly round of imports. The government must guard against both, without letting the sugar lobby dictate outcomes. That requires a transparent, rules-based framework: export volumes tied to a well-defined domestic reserve, with automatic restrictions once supplies fall below that level or prices rise sharply. Stock data should be verified by an independent body, and reconciliation figures published before export permission is given. Such a system would cut political discretion and make manipulation harder to sustain. The recurring sugar crisis is a governance failure. Successive governments have bent to industry pressure instead of building rules that can withstand it. The government keeps subsidising millers only to spend scarce foreign exchange importing sugar months later, privatising the gains and socialising the losses. The question is not whether Pakistan can export another million tonnes of sugar. It is whether the state can prevent the same commodity from being exported cheaply today and imported expensively tomorrow.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026

Anti-drone division

THE ongoing wave of terrorism in the country has resulted in an unacceptably high number of casualties amongst security men, both police officers and military personnel. Despite the courage of security men, terrorists have often exacted a heavy human toll by adapting and altering their tactics on the battlefield. But now, a new unit launched by KP Police seems to be turning the tide by using technology to trace and neutralise terrorists before they can strike. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Division has been successful in lowering the threat level. Terrorist groups had been using drones, specifically quadcopters, to monitor security personnel and drop explosives. Police officials say that terrorist groups had seized modern equipment left behind by exiting Nato forces in Afghanistan, while hostile foreign actors were also said to be providing drone technology to violent elements. While the law enforcers had used anti-drone systems previously, a dedicated unit has had a visible effect on reducing terrorist attacks, and keeping tabs on terrorists in KP’s affected areas.

Police forces in other provinces, particularly Balochistan, which also suffers from a terrorist insurgency, should consider deploying similar units. For long, experts have said that police forces, which are on the front line of the battle against terrorists, must be given the requisite equipment and training to fight violent groups, and stay one step ahead of them. The UAV Division is one example of how the state can deploy the latest technological advances to quell the militant threat, and prevent casualties within the security forces by pre-empting the terrorists. As the KP police chief told this paper, there is “no other option … but technological advancement” to defeat terrorism. When terrorists use the latest technology, the state cannot expect to have the upper hand by using equipment and tactics that are decades-old, and suited to a very different battlespace.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026