DAWN Editorials - 1st March 2025

[faheemustad]

Haqqania bombing

THE bombing of Darul Uloom Haqqania in KP’s Nowshera district on Friday marks a departure from the recent trend of militants targeting mostly security personnel and government officials.

A number of victims lost their lives in the tragedy, including Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, head of the institution, who appeared to be the religious heir of his murdered father, Maulana Samiul Haq. The latter, along with his involvement in Pakistani politics, was known as the ‘Father of the Taliban’; he had earned the moniker because numerous high-ranking Afghan Taliban leaders had attended his madressah. Media reports have quoted police officials as saying that it was a suicide blast, and that Hamid Haqqani was the apparent target.


While no group has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, the Afghan Taliban have insinuated that the self-styled Islamic State may be involved. An Afghan interior ministry official, while condemning the attack, pinned the blame on “enemies of religion”, an apparent reference to IS. Those familiar with the militancy dynamics of the region also concur that there is a strong possibility that this is IS-K’s handiwork, as the latter had been openly critical of the Haqqania seminary.

There is, of course, no love lost between the Afghan Taliban and IS, but from Pakistan’s point of view, if the attack were indeed traced to IS, it would signal a fresh security challenge in KP. Already the province, as well as parts of Balochistan, are witnessing frequent terrorist activity believed to be carried out by the banned TTP and affiliated groups. IS is an equally — if not more — ferocious entity, with global pretensions and a mediaeval, sectarian outlook.


What adds further credence to the belief that IS may be involved is that the group, and those adhering to its ideological narrative, view clerics who endorse democracy in any form with disdain. The late Haqqania head, as well as his father, were active in politics, along with their religious activities.

It is also a possibility that the Haqqanis’ strong links with the Afghan Taliban could have made them prime targets for rival militants. Only a thorough probe can establish the facts, while fresh IS activity in the country should be cause for considerable concern.

Nevertheless, the attack also offers an opportunity for Islamabad and Kabul to work together against a common, and highly dangerous foe.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2025



Blood and drugs

FREQUENT news stories about bone-chilling murders show that the face of crime is changing — there is a marked rise in gory, sociopathic methods to kill. Mustafa Amir’s brutal murder should be seen as a flashpoint for Karachi’s concerns about crime. According to the police, the 23-year-old was kidnapped and killed at a house in DHA allegedly by prime suspects, Armaghan Qureshi and Sheraz Bukhari; his body was set alight in Balochistan’s Hub area. A reminder of the Noor Mukadam, Sara Inam and Shahzeb Khan murders, the incident has stoked mass outrage and, as per police claims, blown the cover off an influential narcotics ring with international connections. Indeed, the tragedy presents a multidimensional test for the authorities. Beyond ensuring a robust investigation and prosecution built on solid evidence, and impartial legal proceedings, they must also be able to convey a political commitment towards crushing drugs and violence.

Modern crime is complicated, and often turns lethal when perpetrated in a drug-induced haze. Although the city police chief has formed a special investigation team to look into ‘criminal activities’ and network of those involved in this murder, it is more than clear and crucial that significant steps to thwart the trade of illegal substances have been absent for too long. Our youth cannot go up in smoke. And to prevent such a fate, the authorities need to expand their drug crackdown beyond DHA’s rarefied boundaries to cut off supply channels in the city and weed out enablers within law enforcement. The drastic escalation in the use of smuggled synthetic narcotics, particularly ice, which triggers psychotic episodes, has been reported for a while. In 2023, the Sindh Task Force on Demand Reduction of Drugs and Harmful Substance Control revealed that drug abuse afflicted every fourth household in Karachi. Pakistan’s youth and its potential cannot be consumed by the curse of heady hit jobs.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2025


Exceptional Assembly

WHAT an exceptional legislature we have for these extraordinary times. At least that is the impression one gets from the one-year performance report of the 16th National Assembly compiled by Pildat, a think tank which conducts periodic analyses of legislative activities.

According to its findings, the 16th National Assembly managed to pass more laws in its first year despite convening for fewer days and hours than the preceding Assembly. In fact, the 47 laws it passed far surpassed almost all previous assemblies’ first-year output, and were almost “seven times the average number of bills passed during the first year by the four previous assemblies,” according to the Pildat president.


However, the Assembly’s increased output should not be mistaken for enhanced efficiency or improved conduct. The Pildat president regrets that “Most of the laws were hurriedly passed without any meaningful debate in the standing committees or within the full House amid strong protests […]”.

A cursory look at some of the laws is enough to bolster the impression that parliament has been acting merely as a rubber stamp for self-serving laws. For example, the 16th National Assembly enacted three amendments to the Elections Act of 2017, of which at least two are publicly perceived to have been aimed at, firstly, denying opposition candidates a fair chance at challenging their defeat in the general election, and, secondly, to prevent reserved seats from being given to the main opposition party.


Other ‘accomplishments’ included amendments to Peca, which the media fraternity, lawyers, and civil society are still protesting, as well as the decidedly anti-democratic Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, which has rendered all public meetings and political rallies in Islamabad subject to the local administration’s whims and wishes.

Then, of course, there’s the 26th Amendment, through which the judiciary has been brought to heel, and the Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Act, which has increased parliamentarians’ salary from Rs188,000 to Rs519,000 per month. Despite all these ‘landmark achievements’, the government is still not done improving its own lot at the country’s expense.

On the eve of the Assembly’s first anniversary, it more than doubled the size of the federal cabinet. As to why this was necessary, there is no polite answer.


Considering that the prime minister managed to achieve ‘so much’ in his first year with just 21 ministers, why did he need 24 more in his cabinet? The state must now find the resources to pay for their salaries, perks and privileges despite the dire state of the country’s finances.

It is quite disappointing that both the government and the Assembly remained completely unbothered by public perceptions in their first year. Their disdain damaged the image of parliament and reduced its standing in the eyes of the people.

Published in Dawn, March 1st, 2025