DAWN Editorials - 7th february2025

[faheemustad]

Depopulating Gaza

DONALD Trump’s latest plan to depopulate Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants and ‘redevelop’ it as a tourist resort would be too absurd to comment on had the scheme not come directly from the horse’s mouth.

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing by his side, President Trump said the US would “take over the Gaza Strip and … own it”. If implemented, such a plan would target Gaza for ethnic cleansing and foreign occupation, in order to create a ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ — one built on the remains of tens of thousands of Palestinians murdered by Israel.

Members of team Trump have scrambled to spin their boss’s words, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that the idea “was not meant as hostile”, while the White House press secretary has said the US has no plans for boots on the ground in Gaza.

Global leaders from across the spectrum have denounced the plan, though Mr Netanyahu — responsible for the butchery in Gaza — has termed the scheme “remarkable”. As for the Palestinian people’s reaction? A resident of Gaza City queried by foreign media summed it up best: “Trump can go to hell. … We are going nowhere.”

The world should know that despite surviving a genocide, carried out by Israel and supported by the US, the people of Gaza refuse to part with their land. They have buried their children, yet they refuse to be evicted from the land of their forefathers in their determination not to repeat the Nakba. Israel would be more than happy to empty out Gaza, as well as the occupied West Bank, thereby making more land available for settlers to colonise.

But the Palestinian people will continue to resist these devious schemes, even while facing some of the most advanced and deadliest armaments on earth. The war on Gaza has proven that the will of the Palestinian people cannot be broken, and that they cannot be bought off, bribed or beaten into submission.

At this point, the two-state solution seems like a distant memory, with the Israelis refusing to budge an inch, and an American administration willing to shield Tel Aviv from all censure. In the absence of any workable and just solution that protects the rights of the Palestinian people, the only foreseeable outcome is more conflict. As it is, after the Gaza ceasefire, Israel has turned its guns on the West Bank. This cycle of bloodshed can be broken if the Palestinians get a contiguous and viable state, but Israel does not want to talk peace. The least feasible ‘solution’ is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter. This is their land, and the Palestinians cannot be forced off it.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025


‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those funding development and lifesaving health services for women and girls, will be felt by millions in poor countries across the world, including Pakistan. The suspension of critical healthcare aid is estimated by the UN to affect 1.7m people in the country, including 1.2m Afghan refugees, many of whom would no longer be able to access necessary sexual and reproductive health services with the closure of over 60 facilities. These health facilities were being administered by the UNFPA, whose regional director expressed concern at the prospect of millions of women and girls facing life-threatening danger due to the lack of access to UNFPA services in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The UNFPA requires over $308m in 2025 to sustain even basic services in these countries.

Since President Donald Trump has also ordered a review of USAID in order to scale down the agency through which foreign assistance is channelled, the implications of American aid suspension for several projects in the country are disturbing. Though the programmes have been halted pending a 90-day review, many fear that the suspension would be indefinite or at least last for several months. There is little possibility of the Pakistani authorities being able to immediately finance the affected health facilities or other USAID-sponsored schemes. The chances of other Western nations stepping in to fill the funding gap, at least in areas that focus on refugees and women, appear dim too. That said, Mr Trump’s decision to cut off aid may also offer an opportunity for the government to stop depending on foreign aid, at least for health and other areas in the social sector, and ramp up its budgetary allocations for initiatives directly linked to the well-being of its citizens. There is no doubt that, after years of reliance on US aid, Pakistan’s cash-strapped government will find it difficult to face the challenge. But it is time to step up and divert a small portion of resources from other schemes, say funds allocated for projects proposed by the lawmakers, to save the lives of thousands of young girls and women affected by the actions of the new US administration. That is what caring governments would do for their people.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025


Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one made for a recent meeting of Pakistan’s opposition parties, hosted by former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser. According to reports, the meeting was attended by PkMAP’s Mahmood Khan Achakzai, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, SIC chief Hamid Raza, MWM leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-PPP senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, incumbent Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub, and others. Stranger still was the pronouncement after the meeting: a grand opposition alliance, to be steered by Mr Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, himself a former PML-N prime minister, will be mobilising a resistance movement against the current regime. Mr Abbasi was reportedly nominated to the responsibility “because he is not a controversial individual.” He has been asked to lead a steering committee that will seek to bring all opposition parties on one platform against the government.

It is still early days to comment on whether this plan will materialise. There are, after all, too many ifs and buts in the equation. Nevertheless, it would have been exciting for politics enthusiasts to learn that a fresh game is afoot. The common purpose is to topple the government and enforce a new round of free and fair elections. Given how deeply entrenched the ‘favoured’ parties have become in recent months, it was only a matter of time before those who find no favour at this time realised they must fight back or be interred in the same place as Pakistani democracy. The selection of Mr Abbasi as the coalition’s chief is a particularly interesting one. It suggests that, occasionally, the PTI may not be as self-centred as it often is, and could consider ceding space to others if the need arises. The country could benefit from some good politics. Let us wait and see.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025