DAWN Editorials - 14th May 2025
Posted: Sun May 18, 2025 4:42 pm
PSL resumption
THE Pakistan Super League is back on. Postponed last week following escalating Pakistan-India tensions, the remaining eight matches of the season will be played from May 17 with the final to be contested eight days later. The dates were announced by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement was reached with India over the weekend. The resumption of the glitzy T20 tournament follows that of the Indian Premier League across the border, which was also suspended, and will provide the nation an outlet following days of tension. The PSL, the PCB’s financial lifeline and a prime-time national attraction, had been targeted by India, with one of its drones crashing outside the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hours before a match was to be played there last week.
Keeping in view the security situation, and the well-being of the foreign players, the PCB — hastily and perhaps due to lack of better judgement — announced it would shift the tournament to the UAE. But with the country on the brink of war at the time, course correction came when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rightly ordered that the remainder of the competition be postponed until the situation improved. The move to postpone PSL, however, came after Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to suspend the IPL — stating that the nation took precedent over cricket — with reports across the border suggesting that the BCCI had asked its UAE counterparts to not allow the PCB to host the matches on its grounds. There were also reports across the border that the foreign players, who had left Pakistan on a chartered flight after the PSL was postponed, had said they would never come back to the country. None of that has happened. The foreign players are returning, including the Australians who had been reported as being sceptical about it, and the PSL, the country’s favourite pastime, is set for a grandstand finish.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025
US-Israel ties
AS Donald Trump landed in Riyadh on Tuesday to a regal reception, questions were swirling whether the American president had refused to toe Tel Aviv’s line on the Middle East, and if he was pursuing an independent regional policy. This is important because Israel has — for decades — commanded reverential bipartisan support in Washington, and very few American politicians would dare take on Tel Aviv. There are several indications that the Trump administration is charting its own course vis-à-vis Israel. For example, the US has secured the release of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas, considered a ‘foreign terrorist entity’ by the US, by negotiating with the Palestinian group and bypassing Israel. Moreover, as he pursues multibillion-dollar business deals in the Gulf, Mr Trump has reportedly dropped his demand that Riyadh recognise Tel Aviv. The Saudis have said normalisation would only be possible once Israel commits to an independent Palestinian state, which currently seems impossible as the Zionist state carries out a genocidal purge in Gaza. Also, Washington has worked out a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis — on the US ‘terrorist’ list as well — much to Israel’s chagrin. The Houthis have been lobbing missiles at Israel apparently in defence of Gaza, while Tel Aviv has undertaken savage bombing runs against Yemen. As for the ongoing talks between the US and Iran, this is probably one of Tel Aviv’s biggest headaches. Though Mr Trump has made inflammatory remarks about bombing Iran, he has publicly said he prefers a negotiated settlement. Israel, on the other hand, wants to fight Iran to the last American. Therefore, all these seemingly independent American decisions are causing much grief within Israel.
However, it would be overly optimistic to consider this a rupture between the US and Israel. After all, several of Donald Trump’s financiers, supporters and members of his inner circle are staunch Zionists. Yet it is also true that the MAGA wing of Mr Trump’s support base wants nothing to do with Middle Eastern wars. Therefore, the seemingly changed approach towards Israel most likely reflects internal dynamics rather than any external considerations. Mr Trump is also known for his U-turns. He could be opposed to US involvement in foreign wars today. But if his Zionist supporters catch his ear, the US bombers and aircraft carriers may be ready for the next forever war in the Middle East.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025
Crisis averted
AS Pakistan and India count their casualties, tend to the wounded and grieve the fallen, the leaderships of the two nations, as well as their people, must ask themselves whether perennial conflict is in their individual interests.
The military confrontations between the two nations last week provided just a small glimpse into the destruction that can be unleashed on both sides of the border in the event of an all-out war. The American president, who brokered a ceasefire between the two, has remarked that his administration helped prevent a nuclear exchange.
If hostilities had reached that point, the leaderships of India and Pakistan would have failed their most fundamental duty: to prevent catastrophe. As nuclear nations, both countries have a duty to wield their powers with utmost responsibility and immense restraint. It is in the strategic interest of both nations to avoid all-out war, and ceasefires are not concessions but necessary steps to prevent irreparable damage.
The Indian government’s decision to escalate hostilities by striking mainland Pakistan was dangerously provocative and must be seen as a grave miscalculation. Matters were not helped by the gleeful cheerleading for the ensuing violence by the media on both sides of the border. The pressure to attack and counter-attack kept growing, till, it seems, both countries were ready to launch full-scale hostilities against each other. In retrospect, the region narrowly avoided calamity: we are now being told we were on the brink of a nuclear war. Citizens of both countries need to understand what that would have entailed.
Should nuclear weapons ever be used, the consequences would be catastrophic beyond imagination. For all those who survive, the fallout will guarantee a life of unimaginable misery. Within hours, a region with millennia of shared history, culture and civilisation would be reduced to rubble. Major cities on both sides would be annihilated. The bombs would spare no one: men and women, young and old.
Over the following week, tens of millions more will die from their injuries or radiation sickness. Disease and starvation on a cataclysmic scale will follow as the subcontinent’s health and food supply infrastructure collapses. The effects will not be confined to this region alone: the bombs and the ensuing fires will release dangerous and radioactive pollutants in the air, which will circulate around the world, triggering a ‘nuclear winter’ and decimating agricultural output. Billions more would be at risk of famine.
The issues between the two countries seem manageable in comparison. Perhaps it is wiser and simpler to work on them than to risk the end of the world. International diplomacy may have halted escalation in this instance, but durable peace can only come from the political will and wisdom of leaders in both India and Pakistan. That responsibility cannot be outsourced.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025
THE Pakistan Super League is back on. Postponed last week following escalating Pakistan-India tensions, the remaining eight matches of the season will be played from May 17 with the final to be contested eight days later. The dates were announced by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi after a US-brokered ceasefire agreement was reached with India over the weekend. The resumption of the glitzy T20 tournament follows that of the Indian Premier League across the border, which was also suspended, and will provide the nation an outlet following days of tension. The PSL, the PCB’s financial lifeline and a prime-time national attraction, had been targeted by India, with one of its drones crashing outside the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hours before a match was to be played there last week.
Keeping in view the security situation, and the well-being of the foreign players, the PCB — hastily and perhaps due to lack of better judgement — announced it would shift the tournament to the UAE. But with the country on the brink of war at the time, course correction came when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rightly ordered that the remainder of the competition be postponed until the situation improved. The move to postpone PSL, however, came after Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to suspend the IPL — stating that the nation took precedent over cricket — with reports across the border suggesting that the BCCI had asked its UAE counterparts to not allow the PCB to host the matches on its grounds. There were also reports across the border that the foreign players, who had left Pakistan on a chartered flight after the PSL was postponed, had said they would never come back to the country. None of that has happened. The foreign players are returning, including the Australians who had been reported as being sceptical about it, and the PSL, the country’s favourite pastime, is set for a grandstand finish.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025
US-Israel ties
AS Donald Trump landed in Riyadh on Tuesday to a regal reception, questions were swirling whether the American president had refused to toe Tel Aviv’s line on the Middle East, and if he was pursuing an independent regional policy. This is important because Israel has — for decades — commanded reverential bipartisan support in Washington, and very few American politicians would dare take on Tel Aviv. There are several indications that the Trump administration is charting its own course vis-à-vis Israel. For example, the US has secured the release of an American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas, considered a ‘foreign terrorist entity’ by the US, by negotiating with the Palestinian group and bypassing Israel. Moreover, as he pursues multibillion-dollar business deals in the Gulf, Mr Trump has reportedly dropped his demand that Riyadh recognise Tel Aviv. The Saudis have said normalisation would only be possible once Israel commits to an independent Palestinian state, which currently seems impossible as the Zionist state carries out a genocidal purge in Gaza. Also, Washington has worked out a ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis — on the US ‘terrorist’ list as well — much to Israel’s chagrin. The Houthis have been lobbing missiles at Israel apparently in defence of Gaza, while Tel Aviv has undertaken savage bombing runs against Yemen. As for the ongoing talks between the US and Iran, this is probably one of Tel Aviv’s biggest headaches. Though Mr Trump has made inflammatory remarks about bombing Iran, he has publicly said he prefers a negotiated settlement. Israel, on the other hand, wants to fight Iran to the last American. Therefore, all these seemingly independent American decisions are causing much grief within Israel.
However, it would be overly optimistic to consider this a rupture between the US and Israel. After all, several of Donald Trump’s financiers, supporters and members of his inner circle are staunch Zionists. Yet it is also true that the MAGA wing of Mr Trump’s support base wants nothing to do with Middle Eastern wars. Therefore, the seemingly changed approach towards Israel most likely reflects internal dynamics rather than any external considerations. Mr Trump is also known for his U-turns. He could be opposed to US involvement in foreign wars today. But if his Zionist supporters catch his ear, the US bombers and aircraft carriers may be ready for the next forever war in the Middle East.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025
Crisis averted
AS Pakistan and India count their casualties, tend to the wounded and grieve the fallen, the leaderships of the two nations, as well as their people, must ask themselves whether perennial conflict is in their individual interests.
The military confrontations between the two nations last week provided just a small glimpse into the destruction that can be unleashed on both sides of the border in the event of an all-out war. The American president, who brokered a ceasefire between the two, has remarked that his administration helped prevent a nuclear exchange.
If hostilities had reached that point, the leaderships of India and Pakistan would have failed their most fundamental duty: to prevent catastrophe. As nuclear nations, both countries have a duty to wield their powers with utmost responsibility and immense restraint. It is in the strategic interest of both nations to avoid all-out war, and ceasefires are not concessions but necessary steps to prevent irreparable damage.
The Indian government’s decision to escalate hostilities by striking mainland Pakistan was dangerously provocative and must be seen as a grave miscalculation. Matters were not helped by the gleeful cheerleading for the ensuing violence by the media on both sides of the border. The pressure to attack and counter-attack kept growing, till, it seems, both countries were ready to launch full-scale hostilities against each other. In retrospect, the region narrowly avoided calamity: we are now being told we were on the brink of a nuclear war. Citizens of both countries need to understand what that would have entailed.
Should nuclear weapons ever be used, the consequences would be catastrophic beyond imagination. For all those who survive, the fallout will guarantee a life of unimaginable misery. Within hours, a region with millennia of shared history, culture and civilisation would be reduced to rubble. Major cities on both sides would be annihilated. The bombs would spare no one: men and women, young and old.
Over the following week, tens of millions more will die from their injuries or radiation sickness. Disease and starvation on a cataclysmic scale will follow as the subcontinent’s health and food supply infrastructure collapses. The effects will not be confined to this region alone: the bombs and the ensuing fires will release dangerous and radioactive pollutants in the air, which will circulate around the world, triggering a ‘nuclear winter’ and decimating agricultural output. Billions more would be at risk of famine.
The issues between the two countries seem manageable in comparison. Perhaps it is wiser and simpler to work on them than to risk the end of the world. International diplomacy may have halted escalation in this instance, but durable peace can only come from the political will and wisdom of leaders in both India and Pakistan. That responsibility cannot be outsourced.
Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2025