DAWN Editorials - 18th May 2025

[zarnishhayat]

War and peace

WITH South Asia’s peace balanced on a knife-edge, it is important for national political leaders to remain grounded. In this context, it has been encouraging to see a slight shift in Islamabad’s position on the recent hostilities between India and Pakistan.

At the start of last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had described the recent conflict as having ‘avenged’ the 1971 war — a claim that had startled many even in Pakistan. Towards the end of the week, however, his speeches were more moderate, with the prime minister noting at one point that past wars had given the two countries “nothing but miseries” and that there now needed to be a comprehensive dialogue.


It is encouraging that there is realisation on Pakistan’s side at least that grandstanding on the recent conflict is quite pointless, and that the frictions between the two countries still need to be addressed.

Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar had encouraged much the same in her recent remarks in parliament. Noting that India’s defeat was not a celebratory occasion, she had said, “We must all be unapologetic as a country that celebrates a ceasefire”. After all, death and destruction are never something to cheer. Arguably, it is better not to have a war than to win one. Our political leadership must not forget this.

History shows that states benefit when they are able to escape the unending cycle of hostilities and focus on how they may coexist. Pakistan’s indignation is justified in that it offered India cooperation from the start, but was met with cold rejection. The people also cannot be faulted for celebrating their armed forces’ successful defence against external belligerence. At the same time, however, both Pakistan’s leadership and public must think about how future conflicts may be avoided instead of escalating to the point of all-out war.

It is only fair to expect reciprocity from the other party. The Indian government must realise the folly of a violent confrontation with Pakistan every few years. War is not some theatre with which to keep the public engaged. For better or worse, the two countries are bound by a long border and a shared history and culture. India must realise that it is detrimental for its interactions with Pakistan to be dictated by New Delhi’s constant desire to establish its hegemony in the region.


The recent hostilities have yielded little apart from establishing a dangerous ‘new normal’ that could see more missiles and munitions being traded in future conflicts. What tangible benefit can the people of either country derive from this?

Instead of constantly evoking the spectre of war, the governments of both countries should work towards peace. The people of the subcontinent will one day thank them for it.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025


Unequal taxation

PAKISTAN’S inefficient, growth-inhibiting, distortive and unjust tax system can justifiably be described as the country’s Achilles heel. Not only is it the root cause of the nation’s fiscal troubles and mounting debt, its role in the endless balance-of-payment crises, leading to continuous boom-and-bust cycles, has also proved damaging. Now, under the IMF’s oversight, the tax authorities are scrambling to meet elevated annual tax collection targets to ensure that the country achieves the primary budget surplus goal of the ongoing $7bn loan. In other words, tax targets, which were previously set to meet public sector expenditures, are now being revised to contain the burgeoning fiscal deficit and reduce the rising debt stock.

The problem, however, is that our fiscal policymakers have already squeezed existing taxpayers dry and the political leadership does not appear to be able to net elements outside the system — retail, real estate, agriculture, etc — because of their political clout. For this year, the FBR had imposed Rs1.3tr worth of new taxes — mostly on salaried individuals and the corporate sector — to plug the gap between the IMF-given target and the amount it could otherwise recover. For the next year, the IMF believes the tax gap will stand at around Rs1tr, which means additional taxation would be required to meet the proposed target of Rs14.3tr in FY26. While media reports suggest that the multilateral lending agency has narrowed its focus in the new budget to concentrate mainly on additional tax measures to achieve the new target, it remains unclear if the government plans to cover this gap by extracting more from existing taxpayers or finally tighten the noose around the sacred cows. The demerits of the FBR’s tax transformation plan apart, the government is facing stiff opposition from the country’s powerful business lobbies, which include textile owners, cement producers and traders who oppose the implementation of some of the measures suggested. The government is said to be working on providing ‘tax relief’ to salaried individuals. But that would hardly be possible unless those who are not paying their dues and are, in effect, stealing from the government are brought into the tax net. This is necessary to create space for the provision of relief to those most in need of it. It is about time that the government penalised the tax evaders, instead of taking more money from the despairing salaried class.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025


Health crimes

MULTAN’S Nishtar Hospital, south Punjab’s largest public-sector hospital, was in the news last year for outrageous negligence that caused a patient’s death by HIV/ AIDS, while 30 others contracted the infection during dialysis. An inquiry committee set up by the provincial government had confirmed the infections at the hospital’s nephrology department; it has now proposed penalties comprising fines, censure and demotions for the facility’s senior officials, along with the removal, and “forfeiture of past one year’s service” of the Nishtar Medical University’s vice chancellor. The investigation, conducted under the Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act, 2006, recorded grave discrepancies in supervision, protocol conformity and patient care by the VC and other accused personnel. Although delayed, this development should serve as a warning for corrupt practitioners and remind others of accountability processes.

The health scandals at the hospital — in 2022, four decomposing corpses were found on its roof — are indicators of the detrimental impact of unethical medics and staff in the absence of accountability mechanisms. Scarcity of funds aggravates the predicament. Presently, Pakistan is second among nations with the sharpest rise in HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region. This virus, stalked by shame, is already a complicated battle. We have a long way to go before societal attitudes become more compassionate towards patients, which will encourage them to report their symptoms and seek treatment. Without consistent treatment, HIV can convert into AIDS and devastate the immune system. But, other than socioeconomic forces, the scale of torturous events that frequently come to light across Pakistan, and their potential spread, imply that the virus may now be difficult to contain. It is crucial for the federal and provincial authorities to view this as a health emergency and enforce immediate preventive measures. Our medical structure should not resemble an abattoir.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2025