DAWN Editorials - 7th May 2025

[zarnishhayat]

Israel unleashed

ISRAEL’S rogue behaviour — attacking the Arab population in the occupied Palestinian territories as well as its neighbours and other states — presents a major challenge to global peace. Unless the Zionist state is confronted by the international community, its destabilising activities will further push the Middle East into a cycle of bloodshed. On Monday, the Israeli cabinet decided to ‘conquer’ Gaza and push its beleaguered people to the south “for their protection”. Tel Aviv has now clearly stated what many had already known: that it seeks to reoccupy Gaza and exterminate or ethnically cleanse its Palestinian residents. Elsewhere, Tel Aviv has attacked Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. On Monday and Tuesday, Israeli warplanes bombed Yemen in apparent retaliation for the Houthi attack on Tel Aviv airport a day before. The pro-Iran Houthis say they are targeting Israel in solidarity with Palestine, and that they will cease operations against the Zionist state if the bloodbath in Gaza stops. The fresh aggression against Yemen comes in the wake of several deadly American strikes targeting the impoverished Arab state. In Syria, Israel claims to be intervening to ‘protect’ that country’s Druze community after recent sectarian clashes claimed around 100 lives. While sectarian violence in Syria is indeed a matter of concern, Israel has no right to interfere; apart from violating Syria’s sovereignty, nobody should be fooled by Israel’s crocodile tears for Syria’s Druze population.

Nearly all the Middle East’s interconnected crises have one common denominator: Israel. Apart from the aforementioned activities, the Iranian foreign minister has said Tel Aviv is trying to drag the US into a Middle East “disaster”. While America can hardly be counted on to rein in Israel, other major world powers — and the larger global community — should take punitive measures against Tel Aviv until it stops its bloodthirsty forays. Appeasing Israel and ignoring its deadly rampages may well set the stage for a regional conflagration of immense proportions.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025


Cleaning up

THE World Bank’s red alert — that global waste may rise by 73pc by 2050 — spells trouble for countries like Pakistan. Low-income countries bear the brunt of the crisis due to limited infrastructure, poor urban planning and weak enforcement. If current trends continue, the global volume of waste will hit 3.88bn tonnes annually. Pakistan, for its part, generates over 3.9m tonnes of plastic every year. And yet, recycling here is virtually non-existent. Unlike in developed nations, where sorting household waste and recycling are routine, most Pakistanis dispose of all waste — organic, recyclable, hazardous — in the same bin, if not chucking it out of moving cars onto the street. This lack of a recycling culture is a major barrier. When it comes to dealing with waste, the responsibility is not the government’s alone. Citizens must also change their ways. Separating waste at source, avoiding single-use plastics, and properly disposing garbage should be social norms. Governance is a work in progress. Despite rules, most cities lack the planning, infrastructure and enforcement to manage waste. Punjab has seen some initiative, with a 42-acre landfill in Lahore now being transformed into a solar park and urban forest. In KP, waste management is often outsourced to private operators with minimal regulatory oversight. Balochistan lags far behind with limited coverage and negligible recycling efforts.

Sindh’s recent move to impose a blanket ban on all types of plastic bags is commendable — if enforced. Its 2019 restrictions were riddled with loopholes and poor implementation. For the new policy to succeed, dedicated waste zones and daily door-to-door trash collection is essential. The ban must be backed by enforcement: fines, seizure of goods, and closure of businesses flouting the law. The federal government must do more than draft policy papers. It must coordinate across provinces to create a national waste strategy with targets for recycling, reduction and enforcement. Funding must be linked to compliance, not mere intent. The WB report highlights the steep cost of inaction: clogged drains, urban flooding, disease and soaring methane emissions. For Pakistan, already among the most climate-vulnerable countries, unmanaged waste is not just an eyesore, it is also a threat multiplier. It is time to clean up our act. Everyone has a role to play, and every bag, bottle and banana peel counts.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025


Unexpected move

THE market did not anticipate it. And only a handful of analysts thought the State Bank would slash borrowing costs — that too by 50bps at the most. The majority assumed that the escalation in border tensions with India would keep the central bank from cutting its key policy rate. They believed that mounting tensions between the two nuclear rivals could potentially underpin inflation risks, strain Pakistan’s budget, impair the country’s access to external financing and weigh on growth. Moody’s, one of the top three global rating agencies, also highlighted these risks to the economy amid the growing tensions. In a note released hours after the announcement of a rate cut of 100bps by the bank to 11pc, Moody’s stated: “Sustained escalation in tensions with India would likely weigh on Pakistan’s growth and hamper the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation, setting back Pakistan’s progress in achieving macroeconomic stability.” However, it seems that the same factors that the analysts believed could prevent a rate cut have influenced the bank’s decision to the contrary. Far less serious risk threats like the US tariffs had forced the bank to act cautiously and pause its monetary easing cycle in March after six straight cuts of 1,000bps since last June.

The rate reduction aims to inspire confidence in the markets about the ‘sustainability’ of the current economic recovery amid India’s growing war rhetoric, which has led to a further downgrade in diplomatic ties, unilateral action by India to illegally ‘suspend’ the Indus Waters Treaty, and reports of a military build-up on its side. If anything, the rate cut is a timely decision to protect Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the uncertainty created by India’s actions.

That said, it would not have been easy for the State Bank to send across this message to stabilise market sentiments had headline inflation not dropped to 0.3pc last month and had the current account, supported by robust remittances and lower global oil prices, not posted a hefty nine-month surplus of $1.9bn. There is no doubt that the economy has taken a major step back from the brink, with macroeconomic indicators improving, inflationary pressure easing and foreign exchange reserves increasing. This is acknowledged by Moody’s as well as other international rating agencies, leading to recent upgrades in Pakistan’s sovereign ratings. Yet growth prospects remain depressed and foreign debt payments continue to weigh heavily on the slowly rising international reserves despite a record increase of over 30pc in workers’ remittances and the central bank’s forex purchases from the market to meet debt obligations. Indeed, military conflict with India would interrupt Pakistan’s journey towards sustained recovery and growth. But New Delhi must realise it would not spare the Indian economy either as pointed out by Moody’s.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025