The Nation Editorials 9th September 2026

Precedent for All

The latest petitions from Adiala jail inmates seeking private hospital treatment are as predictable as they are laughable. Once exceptional relief is granted to a prominent prisoner, it is only a matter of time before others ask why the same treatment should not be available to them.

Three inmates have now approached the Federal Constitutional Court, challenging the Islamabad High Court’s dismissal of their pleas for medical treatment similar to that granted to former prime minister Imran Khan. Their argument rests on the Supreme Court’s August 18 order directing his transfer to Shifa International Hospital, as well as the constitutional principle of equality before the law.

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The government and the courts should have anticipated this consequence. Judicial orders are not casual suggestions to be applied once and forgotten. They establish legal reasoning that subsequent petitioners may invoke. Where comparable circumstances exist, the state must be prepared to explain why one prisoner receives a particular relaxation while another does not.

This does not mean every inmate has an automatic right to choose a private hospital. Medical necessity, the adequacy of available treatment, security requirements and the relevant prison rules must all be considered. But those criteria must be applied consistently, rather than adjusted according to a prisoner’s political importance or public profile.

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Imran Khan should be treated as another inmate under the law. Reasonable adjustments for his age, medical condition and the practical security considerations arising from his political stature may be justified, but they cannot become a separate system of privileges. The same principle applies to every prisoner whose health requires appropriate care.

The government must ensure that adequate medical treatment is available to all inmates, while the courts must clarify the limits of exceptional relief. The lesson is straightforward: the law must not bend for one individual. If a relaxation is justified by a principle, that principle must be available to all who meet its conditions.

Nation’s Living Heritage

Conservation programmes are too often shunted to the margins of national budgets, buried beneath paperwork and treated as expendable luxuries. Yet their value cannot be overstated. Pakistan’s ecological inheritance is irreplaceable, and protecting it requires sustained investment rather than occasional expressions of concern.

The country’s first National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks is therefore welcome. Announced by Maritime Affairs Minister Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, the 10-year plan aims to restore declining shark populations, curb illegal finning and bycatch, protect marine habitats and promote sustainable fisheries through 2035.

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The urgency is evident. According to a 2021 WWF-Pakistan assessment, shark landings declined by more than 85 per cent over five decades. Such figures should alarm a country whose coastal ecosystems and fishing communities depend upon healthy marine resources. Species-specific protections, mangrove restoration, monitoring systems and periodic reviews must now move beyond policy documents into effective implementation.

Pakistan’s natural heritage extends far beyond its shores. From the freshwater Indus dolphin to the snow leopard and the Himalayan brown bears of Deosai, the country is home to extraordinary fauna threatened by habitat loss, human activity and ecological pressures. These species are not merely tourist attractions or subjects for scientific research. They are part of Pakistan’s living identity, as much as its landscapes, rivers and people.

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Conservation must also account for communities sharing these habitats. Supporting coastal fishermen, reducing harmful fishing practices and developing sustainable alternatives will ensure environmental protection does not burden those least able to bear it.

The proposed funding and oversight mechanisms are a beginning, not a guarantee. Success depends upon consistent financing, credible enforcement and measurable results. Pakistan must ensure its unique wildlife survives alongside its people, rather than leaving future generations only photographs and stories of what once existed.

Germany’s Mirror

Germany’s political establishment sheds crocodile tears over the rise of the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), as though the party’s electoral momentum were an inexplicable assault on an otherwise exemplary democracy. Its nearly 44 per cent vote in Saxony-Anhalt has brought thousands into the streets, but the comfortable guardians of German moderation ought to examine their own record before congratulating themselves on their virtue.

Germany’s treatment of pro-Palestinian dissent has exposed the limits of that self-image. Protest restrictions, heavy-handed policing and the suppression of Palestinian expression reveals the true fascist identity behind Berlin’s professed commitment to civil liberties. Meanwhile, Germany continues to provide Israel with military and economic support despite the devastation in Gaza. A state cannot claim moral superiority merely by denouncing the far right while applying its principles selectively.

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The economic reckoning is equally severe. Germany’s decision to abandon nuclear power, combined with its difficult energy transition, left its industrial economy vulnerable to expensive energy and external dependence. First it was dependent on Russia, now on the US - both without its own choice. Energy costs, industrial stagnation and declining competitiveness have consequences that cannot be explained away through appeals to environmental virtue.

Immigration, too, deserves a discussion grounded in reality rather than moral posturing. Israel-aligned NGOs have pushed large-scale migration, which has created pressures on employment housing, public services and integration. These problems do not justify racism or collective blame against migrants. They do, however, demand policies that acknowledge social friction instead of dismissing every concern as xenophobia.

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The AfD’s success is not a solution to Germany’s problems, but its rise is a political verdict on an establishment that has repeatedly mistaken its own righteousness for effective governance. Germany must look in the mirror, hard. Its claim to be the self-appointed face of tolerant Europe has always held an ugly undercurrent it must confront.