DAWN Editorials - 13th August 2025

[zarnishhayat]

Deep mistrust NEARLY eight decades after Partition, relations between Pakistan and India remain moribund, with little chance of improvement. Among the main drivers of distrust, lately, is India’s unilateral ‘holding in abeyance’ of the Indus Waters Treaty, thereby threatening Pakistan’s rights over shared rivers.

New Delhi took this rash step in April after the Pahalgam attack. However, the Indian move is not standing up to international legal scrutiny. For example, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague recently stated in an award that India must “let flow” the waters of western rivers for Pakistan’s “unrestricted use”. The award in question is related to arbitration Pakistan initiated in 2016. An earlier award by the court in June had similarly held that India could not unilaterally hold the IWT in abeyance. Displaying rigidity, India had earlier said that it does not recognise the court. Pakistan has welcomed the latest award.

However, India’s attempts to isolate Pakistan are not limited to creating obstructions on Indus waters. Attempts are also afoot to depict Pakistan as an irresponsible nation where the nuclear issue is concerned. With reference to a speech Pakistan’s army chief reportedly made in the US recently, Indian media outlets have made some sensationalist claims.

The Indian external affairs ministry, using unverified reports as a peg, has accused Pakistan of “nuclear sabre-rattling”, while alleging that extremists could ‘compromise’ Islamabad’s nuclear decision-making. The Foreign Office says the field marshal’s comments have been “distorted”. These talking points are not new, but the Indian media — and, specifically, the Indian government — should avoid making controversial accusations, especially with regard to the nuclear issue. Both sides, particularly New Delhi, must handle this sensitive area with care.

Historically, ties have never been perfect. In the past, the Pakistani state has made mistakes and rebuffed India’s peace gestures. The Kargil misadventure is a case in point. But with the Modi regime’s anti-Muslim and anti-Pakistan rhetoric, ties have entered very dangerous territory.

It may well be true that following the Pakistan-India armed skirmish in May, and the subsequent warming of relations between Islamabad and Washington, New Delhi has been ‘rattled’. Its attempts to isolate Pakistan globally have failed, hence perhaps the desperate moves to question the safety of this country’s nuclear arsenal.

Instead of indulging in combative rhetoric, both sides must bring down temperatures in South Asia. India should particularly act with restraint, as sensationalist allegations can lead to further deterioration in ties, and may even trigger renewed conflict. While peacemaking is a distant dream at the moment, both sides can at least ensure that matters do not worsen. Meanwhile, India should listen to what neutral experts are saying about Pakistan’s rights over Indus waters, and refrain from making any moves that could vitiate matters.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025

Displaced again WITH the resumption of Operation Sarbakaf, the people of Bajaur are reeling once more. It is not just a military offensive; it is tantamount to the reopening of old wounds. Once more, the thunder of artillery and helicopter gunships echoes through valleys in which the sound is all too familiar. Once more, families are rushing to load belongings onto trucks, tractors and whatever transport they can find. They do not know when — or if even — they may return. According to local estimates, some 2,000 families have already fled the region and hundreds more continue to leave as curfews take hold in Lowi Mamund and War Mamund. Schools are being converted into makeshift shelters. Some have taken refuge with relatives. Each family is a household uprooted, a livelihood lost, a child pulled from school. The trauma from displacement is not something easily measured. It lingers long after the dust has settled, in the form of destroyed homes, lost income, disrupted education and deep mistrust towards all sides of the conflict. For many in Bajaur and the wider ex-Fata region, this is a cycle they know too well: clear the area, live in camps, return to damaged towns and brace for the next round. With each repetition, citizens lose more faith in the state’s ability to bring lasting peace.

The state is duty-bound to protect citizens from militant violence. But protection should not be at the expense of dignity and survival. Military operations in populated areas must be accompanied by meticulous planning for civilian evacuation, shelter and sustenance. The complaints of local leaders — that residents were not consulted and displaced families lack basic facilities — must be heeded immediately. A policy that wins battles but alienates the very people it seeks to defend is self-defeating. Long-term peace in Bajaur will not be secured by firepower alone. The ‘hold’ and ‘build’ stages of counterterrorism have too often been neglected, leaving vacuums that militants exploit. This time, security gains must be followed by investment in infrastructure, livelihoods, political inclusion, and most importantly, by addressing grievances that feed resentment. The people of Bajaur deserve the assurance that their displacement will not become a recurring chapter in an endless war. Without breaking this cycle, the burden they bear today will become the burden of yet another generation.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025

Locked away THE state’s failure to devise legal safeguards and policies for consular protections is frequently reflected in news about Pakistanis in foreign prisons. A Senate committee was told on Monday that 17,321 Pakistani nationals are currently incarcerated abroad. Most of them are in prisons in the Middle East, whereas 85 languish in Afghanistan’s jails. Community welfare attachés from Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur reported 3,523, 619 and 499 detainees, respectively, with some details about their condition as undertrial prisoners and convicts.

Unfortunately, the state’s hollow directives confirm that the political will to protect helpless, often uneducated Pakistani citizens, who are at the mercy of distant courts, facing trial without consular access and legal representation, is absent. Such an approach can lead to serious sentences. But even a dark past — at least 183 nationals were executed overseas between 2010 and 2023; 171 of them in Saudi Arabia — and an equally bleak future for the jailed have not resulted in any pangs of conscience. According to Justice Project Pakistan, Pakistanis imprisoned outside their country endure violations of due process because of biased translators, extended detentions and lack of access to lawyers. This abandonment has to be addressed as there are legal regimes that extend beyond our borders, obligating the government to defend the fundamental rights of Pakistanis anywhere in the world. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations states that when a citizen is in trouble abroad, relevant embassies must be informed as well as granted the right to meet, communicate and provide legal support. International human rights law limits capital punishment to “the most serious crimes”, which excludes drug infringements. In this context, the government needs to respond with immediate implementation of the Uniform Consular Protection Policy, while signing more treaties with states so that the convicted can serve their prison terms in this country.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2025