DAWN Editorials - 9th April 2025
Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2025 12:41 pm
Following through
THE government’s decision to establish the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre (Niftac) under the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) is a positive move — on paper. With violence escalating in KP and Balochistan and the TTP and BLA continuing their campaign of terror, Pakistan cannot afford to delay action. The deadly ambushes on security forces in North Waziristan, targeted attacks in Dera Ismail Khan and Gwadar, and the Jaffar Express hijacking in Balochistan demonstrate the growing sophistication and reach of militant groups.
Nacta’s fifth Board of Governors meeting, where Niftac was approved, also laid out plans for Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centres (Piftacs), a promising attempt to streamline threat analysis across federal and provincial lines. But Nacta has seen hopeful launches before. The Joint Intelligence Directorate approved in 2016 was hailed as a game-changer in intelligence coordination — until it faded into irrelevance. Similarly, past counterterrorism frameworks, including the National Internal Security Policy (2018–23), with its emphasis on non-kinetic measures, were left unimplemented. Now, faced with another wave of militant violence, officials have returned to old plans with renewed urgency.
The situation demands more than bureaucratic reshuffling or new acronyms. Pakistan’s CT response has too often consisted of making new bodies, issuing fresh mandates, and calling for coordination — without addressing the root causes of militancy or ensuring continuity in policy execution. If the government truly wishes to fortify the internal security apparatus, it must do more than approve plans. It must execute them in all earnest.
This means empowering Nacta to function as the country’s lead civilian CT authority. It also means breaking the cycle of sidelining Nacta after every surge of violence. It means funding and strengthening provincial CT departments to detect and disrupt militant networks before they strike. The ideological dimension of this war must also be tackled. As highlighted in the National Action Plan — the government’s central policy document on countering terrorism — long-term peace depends on addressing deep-rooted local grievances in restive areas like Balochistan and the merged districts of KP. Reconciliation, development, and deradicalisation initiatives cannot remain dormant words in a policy document.
As this newspaper argued last year, the state must prioritise reforms in regions that have long suffered from poverty, marginalisation, and security operations devoid of political will. Moreover, extremist and sectarian outfits that still operate in the public sphere must be dismantled. They feed the very ideologies that produce suicide bombers and armed groups. Reviving Nacta is important. But so is recognising that CT is not just about hardware and coordination cells. It is about political resolve, long-term investment in affected communities, and an unwavering commitment to implement what has already been promised. The question is whether this government, like others before it, will once again stop short of following through.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
Robe rebellion
THE unrest within the Islamabad High Court shows no sign of abating, and it is perhaps just as well that the petition filed by five of its judges questioning the court’s seniority list and its acting chief justice’s appointment has been fixed for hearing before the Constitutional Bench in the coming week. In recent days, several IHC judges have expressed concern over the acting chief justice of the court transferring cases from one bench to another “without clear legal justification”. The issue first came to the fore last month, when one of the IHC justices, after discovering they had been reassigned a case they had previously recused from, challenged the acting chief justice’s intervention in returning the case to their bench. On Monday, a similar situation arose when a division bench of the IHC discovered that it had been assigned three blasphemy cases previously heard by another bench. “This case has already been heard in detail by a single bench. It is not appropriate to transfer it to another bench without any justification,” one of the judges remarked on the occasion. The concern was reportedly endorsed by the counsel of the parties present as well.
The IHC has been in the limelight ever since three judges from other high courts were transferred to the court in controversial circumstances. Later, one of those three was also elevated as its acting chief justice, superseding several judges who had been serving at the court for years. Five of the IHC ‘older’ judges subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the transfer, the changes made to the court’s seniority list, as well as the appointment of the IHC’s acting chief justice. Separately, the Karachi Bar Association also petitioned the court questioning why the transferred judges were immediately given senior positions in the IHC and arguing that their transfers were never made in the public interest but in order to punish certain judges of the IHC and disrupt the court’s functioning. As the Constitutional Bench prepares to hear their arguments, it bears pointing out that it is crucial that this controversy is settled expeditiously and in line with prevailing rules, regulations and the law. The questions being raised about the IHC’s functioning from within are tarnishing its credibility. There must be justice within the judiciary, otherwise public faith in its impartiality will continue to dwindle.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
Fearing birth
AMID dramatic aid cuts, the WHO has sounded the alarm about the dangers to Pakistan’s mothers and newborns, asking global and national associates to help lower its maternal and neonatal mortalities without delay. To prevent another bleak phase — in 2020, a UN progress report said that Pakistan ranked third among the top 10 nations with the highest maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths — the government must pay close attention to WHO’s depressing data:675 under one-month-old babies and 27 mothers succumb to preventable complications daily in the country, amounting to an annual loss of more than 9,800 mothers and 246,300 newborns with over 190,000 stillbirths every year. We can, however, take credit for the fact that 80pc of our population resides in areas where neonatal tetanus spread has been contained. While the Trends in Maternal Mortality report states that maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 fell by 40pc due to easier access to health facilities, it also warns against a relapse — approximately 260,000 women died in 2023, which means one expectant mother perished every two minutes.
This nation cannot relive another nightmare. If authorities slacken, health gains diminish. This jeopardises global goals to reduce maternal mortality, putting over a million females at risk by 2030. The challenges in the provision of obstetric care within health units are prime concerns as haemorrhages and deficiencies are common causes of deaths. But most obstetric services are concentrated in urban areas, with not enough focus on underdeveloped regions. There is a need for investment in quality infrastructure and staff to handle labour problems and deliver superior neonatal care. The government, aside from healthcare reforms, must develop training programmes in partnership with health specialists that focus on the untrained midwives who perform rural deliveries, with large-scale distribution of medical supplies to ensure safety. In short, the blood of mothers dying in childbirth must not darken our prospects again.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
THE government’s decision to establish the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre (Niftac) under the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) is a positive move — on paper. With violence escalating in KP and Balochistan and the TTP and BLA continuing their campaign of terror, Pakistan cannot afford to delay action. The deadly ambushes on security forces in North Waziristan, targeted attacks in Dera Ismail Khan and Gwadar, and the Jaffar Express hijacking in Balochistan demonstrate the growing sophistication and reach of militant groups.
Nacta’s fifth Board of Governors meeting, where Niftac was approved, also laid out plans for Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centres (Piftacs), a promising attempt to streamline threat analysis across federal and provincial lines. But Nacta has seen hopeful launches before. The Joint Intelligence Directorate approved in 2016 was hailed as a game-changer in intelligence coordination — until it faded into irrelevance. Similarly, past counterterrorism frameworks, including the National Internal Security Policy (2018–23), with its emphasis on non-kinetic measures, were left unimplemented. Now, faced with another wave of militant violence, officials have returned to old plans with renewed urgency.
The situation demands more than bureaucratic reshuffling or new acronyms. Pakistan’s CT response has too often consisted of making new bodies, issuing fresh mandates, and calling for coordination — without addressing the root causes of militancy or ensuring continuity in policy execution. If the government truly wishes to fortify the internal security apparatus, it must do more than approve plans. It must execute them in all earnest.
This means empowering Nacta to function as the country’s lead civilian CT authority. It also means breaking the cycle of sidelining Nacta after every surge of violence. It means funding and strengthening provincial CT departments to detect and disrupt militant networks before they strike. The ideological dimension of this war must also be tackled. As highlighted in the National Action Plan — the government’s central policy document on countering terrorism — long-term peace depends on addressing deep-rooted local grievances in restive areas like Balochistan and the merged districts of KP. Reconciliation, development, and deradicalisation initiatives cannot remain dormant words in a policy document.
As this newspaper argued last year, the state must prioritise reforms in regions that have long suffered from poverty, marginalisation, and security operations devoid of political will. Moreover, extremist and sectarian outfits that still operate in the public sphere must be dismantled. They feed the very ideologies that produce suicide bombers and armed groups. Reviving Nacta is important. But so is recognising that CT is not just about hardware and coordination cells. It is about political resolve, long-term investment in affected communities, and an unwavering commitment to implement what has already been promised. The question is whether this government, like others before it, will once again stop short of following through.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
Robe rebellion
THE unrest within the Islamabad High Court shows no sign of abating, and it is perhaps just as well that the petition filed by five of its judges questioning the court’s seniority list and its acting chief justice’s appointment has been fixed for hearing before the Constitutional Bench in the coming week. In recent days, several IHC judges have expressed concern over the acting chief justice of the court transferring cases from one bench to another “without clear legal justification”. The issue first came to the fore last month, when one of the IHC justices, after discovering they had been reassigned a case they had previously recused from, challenged the acting chief justice’s intervention in returning the case to their bench. On Monday, a similar situation arose when a division bench of the IHC discovered that it had been assigned three blasphemy cases previously heard by another bench. “This case has already been heard in detail by a single bench. It is not appropriate to transfer it to another bench without any justification,” one of the judges remarked on the occasion. The concern was reportedly endorsed by the counsel of the parties present as well.
The IHC has been in the limelight ever since three judges from other high courts were transferred to the court in controversial circumstances. Later, one of those three was also elevated as its acting chief justice, superseding several judges who had been serving at the court for years. Five of the IHC ‘older’ judges subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the transfer, the changes made to the court’s seniority list, as well as the appointment of the IHC’s acting chief justice. Separately, the Karachi Bar Association also petitioned the court questioning why the transferred judges were immediately given senior positions in the IHC and arguing that their transfers were never made in the public interest but in order to punish certain judges of the IHC and disrupt the court’s functioning. As the Constitutional Bench prepares to hear their arguments, it bears pointing out that it is crucial that this controversy is settled expeditiously and in line with prevailing rules, regulations and the law. The questions being raised about the IHC’s functioning from within are tarnishing its credibility. There must be justice within the judiciary, otherwise public faith in its impartiality will continue to dwindle.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025
Fearing birth
AMID dramatic aid cuts, the WHO has sounded the alarm about the dangers to Pakistan’s mothers and newborns, asking global and national associates to help lower its maternal and neonatal mortalities without delay. To prevent another bleak phase — in 2020, a UN progress report said that Pakistan ranked third among the top 10 nations with the highest maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths — the government must pay close attention to WHO’s depressing data:675 under one-month-old babies and 27 mothers succumb to preventable complications daily in the country, amounting to an annual loss of more than 9,800 mothers and 246,300 newborns with over 190,000 stillbirths every year. We can, however, take credit for the fact that 80pc of our population resides in areas where neonatal tetanus spread has been contained. While the Trends in Maternal Mortality report states that maternal deaths between 2000 and 2023 fell by 40pc due to easier access to health facilities, it also warns against a relapse — approximately 260,000 women died in 2023, which means one expectant mother perished every two minutes.
This nation cannot relive another nightmare. If authorities slacken, health gains diminish. This jeopardises global goals to reduce maternal mortality, putting over a million females at risk by 2030. The challenges in the provision of obstetric care within health units are prime concerns as haemorrhages and deficiencies are common causes of deaths. But most obstetric services are concentrated in urban areas, with not enough focus on underdeveloped regions. There is a need for investment in quality infrastructure and staff to handle labour problems and deliver superior neonatal care. The government, aside from healthcare reforms, must develop training programmes in partnership with health specialists that focus on the untrained midwives who perform rural deliveries, with large-scale distribution of medical supplies to ensure safety. In short, the blood of mothers dying in childbirth must not darken our prospects again.
Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2025