Express Tribune Editorials 10th March 2025

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Unchecked road rage
Despite ongoing initiatives by Sindh government authorities to curb the alarming rise in fatal traffic accidents in Karachi, particularly those involving heavy vehicles, the death toll continues to rise.

Statistics show a staggering 74.4% increase in road fatalities in 2025 compared to last year. These road accidents are caused by a concoction of administrative failures, infrastructural flaws, citizens' disregard for the law and a blatant lack of accountability for errant drivers.


While an overwhelming majority of drivers in Karachi do not have valid driving licences and are routinely involved in traffic violations, traffic cops never appear serious about disciplining them through fines, instead viewing them as their catch of the day. The collective lack of accountability and law enforcement has led to 150 deaths in the city so far this year.

Earlier this year, Sindh Police announced a crackdown on vehicles that are not complying with licensing and vehicle fitness certificate regulations, resulting in the impounding of 195 vehicles and cancellation of 532 fitness certificates. Also, heavy vehicles have been banned from daytime operations.

But these measures have not helped curtail the number of traffic accidents occurring within the metropolis on a daily basis. Dumper trucks continue to collide with speeding traffic in the daytime, and the general public remains oblivious about road safety. This begs the immediate question – if a policy exists, then why doesn't official prevention?

The failure to curb the violations occurs when drivers are either unaware of traffic regulations or intentionally defy them; and when police officials tasked with enforcing those rules shirk their duty. A zero-tolerance policy must be implemented on Karachi's roads with a sense of immediacy that only the 150 deaths can justify. While road safety campaigns should be continuous and widespread, police officials should be equipped with body cameras so as to eradicate the culture of bribery and ensure accountability.


Vanishing howls
Pakistan's wolves are disappearing. Once spread across vast landscapes, the Indian wolf and the Tibetan wolf are now on the brink of local extinction, with only a few hundred individuals left. Their decline is not a mystery — it is the direct result of human activity. Habitat destruction, retaliatory killings, and a shrinking prey base have pushed these apex predators to the edge.

The most immediate challenge is human-wildlife conflict. As natural prey dwindles due to deforestation and overgrazing, Indian wolves, particularly in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab, are increasingly forced to hunt livestock. In response, farmers often kill them in retaliation. To break this cycle, Pakistan needs a government-backed compensation program that reimburses herders for livestock losses.


Similar schemes have worked in India and Nepal, reducing retaliatory killings while fostering coexistence. Protecting habitats is just as crucial. Pakistan lacks designated wolf conservation zones, leaving these animals vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. The government must establish and enforce protected areas in wolf-inhabited regions, such as the Thar Desert, Balochistan's plateaus, and Gilgit-Baltistan's highlands.

Restoring degraded ecosystems by replanting forests and restricting human encroachment would also help rebuild the wolves natural prey base, reducing their dependence on livestock. Strict anti-poaching laws are another necessity. While hunting wolves is illegal under the Pakistan Wildlife Act, enforcement remains weak. Poaching for fur and body parts continues unchecked.

Authorities must crack down on illegal hunting networks, introduce harsher penalties, and train wildlife protection units to safeguard these animals effectively.

Extinction is permanent. If action is delayed, the loss of Pakistan's wolves will be an environmental tragedy for the world to witness - a damning indictment of our failure to protect our natural heritage.


Costly imported cotton
The alarming decline in Pakistan's cotton output poses a significant threat to the national economy and will likely have a knock-on effect across multiple sectors. The country is grappling with a nearly 50% shortfall in cotton production compared to official targets, and a 34% year-on-year decline.

At the heart of this crisis is the drastic drop in domestic cotton cultivation, which has reportedly fallen to historically low levels. With total production recorded at only 5.525 million bales this season, the implications are dire, especially as Punjab — the cornerstone of our cotton industry — experiences unprecedented production losses.


In a worrying twist, the traditionally more productive region has been surpassed by Sindh, driven by a shift towards sugarcane farming, which is seen as more lucrative for farmers, but has significantly less potential for value addition by other economic sectors. The realignment spells disaster for an industry already reeling from adverse weather conditions and poor market policies that favour imports over local products.

The fallout from these declines extends beyond the agricultural sector. Cotton is the backbone of Pakistan's textile industry, which significantly contributes to the country's exports and employment. However, with local textile mills acquiring only 5.1 million bales this year — down from 7.9 million bales previously — the ripple effects are beginning to be felt.

A persisting trend threatens job losses and reduced income for hundreds of thousands of workers. Moreover, reliance on imported cotton places a heavy burden on the exchequer. A recent news report says cotton and cooking oil imports combined will cost around $5 billion this year.

Unfortunately, the cash-strapped government seems both unwilling and unable to invest in encouraging cotton production, even going as far as effectively subsidising imports by making them duty-free while taxing local cotton. While changing production trends is a long-term project, the government could surely address inconsistencies, such as its cotton tax policy to encourage local growers.