Express Tribune Editorials 28th May 2025

[zarnishhayat]

Kuwait visa ban no more

Kuwait's landmark decision to lift its 19-year visa ban on Pakistani citizens could make a huge impact on the lives of Pakistani workers seeking employment abroad. The policy change reinstates access to work, family, tourist and commercial visas for Pakistanis, ending a restrictive policy that had been in place since 2011 due to security concerns. Citizens of Iran, Syria and Afghanistan were also included in the 2011 ban.

Relaxation of the restriction shows that the Kuwaitis are prioritising mutual growth, opening the doors for skilled Pakistani workers such as nurses, who make up the majority of the first batch of visa recipients. Indeed, Kuwait has historically benefited from the labour of hundreds of Pakistani health professionals, apart from thousands of people who have worked in all imaginable fields in the tiny oil-rich state.

Kuwait's adoption of an online visa platform also underscores its commitment to modernisation, efficiency and transparency, enabling most applicants to secure visas in under 24 hours. The visa restoration for Pakistanis may also reflect closer diplomatic ties, since years of negotiations between the two nations have led to a new memorandum of understanding to streamline worker mobility and safeguard rights.

At the same time, it is worth noting that Kuwait has been lagging behind other Gulf countries in terms of non-oil economic activity, so much so that even local media, which generally shows restraint while criticising the government, has been lambasting economic policymakers for years.

Much of the criticism has focused on foreign worker policies that have failed to keep up with the times, such as laws dealing with freelancers, education requirements for several visa categories, and property rights, and how places like the UAE have benefited from forward-thinking policies in these areas.

If Kuwait reforms its own rules, it could become a desirable 'home away from home' for thousands of Pakistani entrepreneurs and freelancers.


Data breach

A chilling reminder of Pakistan's vulnerability in the digital age has emerged with the latest advisory from the National Cyber Emergency Response Team (PKCERT).

Over 180 million login credentials and passwords of Pakistani internet users have been compromised in a massive global data breach, exposing sensitive personal and institutional data tied to global tech giants, government portals and critical services.

This is no small breach. The data - exposed in an unencrypted, publicly accessible file - includes usernames, passwords, emails and URLs linked to services such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and even platforms related to banking, healthcare and government functions.

That such a vast trove of information was not only stolen but left completely unprotected is a stark indictment of our collective failure to take cybersecurity seriously. The consequences of such a breach are not just limited to personal inconvenience or financial fraud.


At scale, they pose serious threats to national security, institutional integrity and the trust that underpins Pakistan's digital governance and commerce landscape. Pakistan's digital footprint has grown exponentially in recent years. Yet, our cybersecurity infrastructure has failed to keep pace with this growth.

PKCERT's advisory calls for immediate protective action, but one-off warnings are not enough. What Pakistan needs is a comprehensive, nationwide cybersecurity strategy that mandates rigorous standards for data protection and incident response.

Regulatory bodies must compel companies, especially those handling sensitive data, to implement robust encryption and security measures. Government systems must be fortified with intrusion detection systems and a trained cybersecurity workforce.

At the individual level, the public must be educated about the risks of weak passwords, the dangers of phishing attempts and the importance of installing antivirus and anti-malware protections. But again, this will requires heavy investment in digital technology.


Unbecoming of a PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is perhaps feeling the heat of embarrassment, and is out to provoke his people for more jingoism against Pakistan. His speech at a rally in his hotbed constituency, Gujarat, was unbecoming of the stature of a Prime Minister, and it seems he believes in stooping too low without any concern for diplomatic or interstate ethics.

This reckless provocation has a purpose and that is to derail the momentum of mediation and diplomacy that the US and other major powers are choreographing to usher in peace and stability between the two nuclear states. The fact that they have returned from the brink after a four-day duel, and are keeping their fingers crossed, calls for some statesmanship and not this political vandalism that the Indian premier is resorting to.

For the sake of record-keeping, let us reiterate what Mr Modi uttered in his carried-away saffron fanfare: "…eat your bread or [choose my] bullet." This appears to be a page taken from the playbook of Nazism, which led the world into a catastrophic World War, devastating civilisations and humanity.


Such brinkmanship is quite common among other BJP and RSS stalwarts too, as they time and again feel like threatening Pakistan to raise their minion status at the cost of regional sanctity. The applause from the crowd adorned in orange and white outfits is a red flag, and it is high time the world community took notice of India's political terrorism following its aggression against Pakistan under the false pretext of Pahalgam killings.

Modi, as an elected leader of one of the world's largest democracies, must reflect on his policies, and the best way out is to clean the Augean stable by addressing the irritants between the two countries.

Pakistan's condemnation is noticeable, and it is right in asserting that the fire-spitting speech was intended to distract attention from the ongoing human rights abuses and demographic engineering in IIOJK, as well as the failure of the Operation Sindoor. The onus is on India's civil society and the general public to rise to the occasion and checkmate this war-mongering mentality by booting the incumbents out.