DAWN Editorials - 17th May 2025

[zarnishhayat]

Missing link

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb now has much to his credit, which is why his promise that the M6 motorway will be completed “at all costs” gives one hope that there may be some progress on this long-awaited project in the coming financial year. “[…] We will ensure the planning ministry is fully informed of the motorway’s importance so that appropriate budgetary provisions are made,” he recently assured parliament while dwelling on the government’s development plans for fiscal 2026. It is a wonder that the M6 motorway, which will link Karachi to Sukkur, still exists only on paper. Considering the size of the port city and its importance to the national economy, Karachi ought to have been the first city to be linked to other urban and industrial centres when the motorways were conceived. Instead, in 2025, road travellers do not have access to a reliable, well-maintained, high-speed motorway that links the country to Pakistan’s main commercial hub, and must use highways in frequent need of repairs.

Meanwhile, almost all the other important urban centres of the country, barring Quetta, have been connected via motorways for many years, which has greatly facilitated travel, trade and transport. Even now, six years from when it was supposed to become operational, it seems the M6 will take another few years to operationalise despite the finance minister’s sincere promises. Mr Aurangzeb revealed the authorities are still exploring funding options for the M6 project, and while international financial institutions have shown an interest in financing the motorway, there is still nothing that seems to have been firmed up. ‘Unsolicited’ proposals for the project, submitted by two firms earlier this year, seem to have been ignored by the authorities, and it seems that no real progress has been made over the past many years that would benefit road travellers. Sindh’s representatives should continue raising the issue forcefully, or the project will keep being pushed back.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025


Rising heat

AS the mercury continues to rise mercilessly across Pakistan, it becomes painfully clear that climate change has hit us hard. The country will have to endure recurring cycles of deadly heat, which will likely intensify. Each year, the toll on lives and livelihoods grows heavier, while our preparedness lags dangerously behind. While a westerly system may offer some relief next week, the immediate focus must remain on protecting vulnerable communities and strengthening long-term resilience. The Met Department has warned that temperatures will remain 4°C to 7°C above normal in many regions, with parts of southern Punjab and Sindh already experiencing highs above 45°C. In Punjab, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority has ramped up emergency measures, directing hospitals to set up dedicated heatwave counters and stock lifesaving medicines. Clean drinking water is being ensured in high-risk areas like Cholistan, and public awareness campaigns have been launched. However, in many remote and underserved areas, the state’s presence remains worryingly thin, leaving citizens to fend for themselves.

Such short-term responses, while necessary, are not enough. Heatwaves are becoming a grim new normal driven by global warming. To navigate this reality, resilience must be built at both community and institutional levels. In the immediate term, citizens must follow official advisories: avoid outdoor exposure between 10am and 4pm, wear light-coloured, breathable clothing, stay hydrated, and use oral rehydration solutions to prevent dehydration. Vulnerable groups — children, the elderly, pregnant women, outdoor labourers, and those with chronic illnesses — require special attention. Employers must adjust working hours and provide shaded rest areas. Early signs of heatstroke should never be ignored; immediate cooling and professional medical care can save lives. Looking ahead, urban centres must adapt by expanding shaded public spaces, ensuring uninterrupted water supply, and enforcing labour protections during peak heat hours. Health systems, particularly in rural areas, must be strengthened to cope with rising cases of heat-related illnesses. At the policy level, climate adaptation must be treated as an urgent national priority. Investments in early warning systems, green infrastructure such as urban forests and cool roofs, the revival of traditional water reservoirs, and wide-reaching public education campaigns are critical. Heatwaves will return, each more punishing than the last. Building resilience has become a matter of survival in a dangerously warming world.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025


Tariff reform

THE planned import policy reforms to recalibrate tariffs in line with Pakistan’s industrialisation and export aims signify a major positive shift in the government’s economic and growth strategy.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a roadmap to drastically slash average customs tariffs from 19pc to 9.5pc in the next five years, besides eliminating decades-old distortive tariff protections for carmakers, steel producers, textiles manufacturers, the chemical sector, and others against foreign competition. Another key reform focuses on reducing the number of existing custom duty slabs from five to four, with peak tariffs lowered from 20pc to 15pc.

The roadmap also envisages doing away with numerous regulatory and additional taxes on thousands of imported items to bring certainty, transparency and uniformity to cascading margins. The reforms are expected to boost exports by $5bn once the adjustments are phased in, starting with the next budget.


More importantly, the lower tariff barriers will go a long way in helping Pakistan integrate into the global economy with considerable ease. The tariff reforms should also boost our industrial competitiveness, and allow manufacturers to become part of global supply chains by giving them greater access to raw materials and semi-finished goods.

Trade policy professionals generally agree that the high import taxes are a regressive form of taxation as they make businesses more inward-looking, thus creating an anti-export bias in the overall economic policy framework. Our tariff policy is a testament to that. For decades, we have imposed some of the highest tariffs, a major reason why Pakistan has failed to move to manufacturing high-quality, value-added goods. And regionally, its export-to-GDP ratio remains one of the lowest. High import tariffs and the inability to acquire goods that can support technological progress exacerbate the economic challenges.

Indeed, there are concerns that lower tariffs, which Pakistan has until now used as a major source of tax revenue collection rather than for industrialisation and export growth, would lead to higher imports and, ultimately, to another balance-of-payments crisis. But such concerns are exaggerated and are being raised by those who have made money using tariff protections. There is no doubt that imports would rise but exports will grow at a much faster pace, reducing trade deficit and creating more jobs.


However, the assumption that a reformed tariff policy can do the magic on its own is misplaced. Although Pakistan’s import taxes remain higher than its peers, these have come down considerably since the early 1990s when the country embarked upon the path to economic and trade liberalisation.

Yet the fall in the average tariffs since then has not translated into proportionate export growth or significant integration into the global economy. This means there also are other policies that need to be fixed along with tariffs.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025