DAWN Editorials - 14th January 2025

[faheemustad]

Left behind

FOR a country that produced the world’s youngest Nobel laureate for championing girls’ education, Pakistan’s statistics make for tragic reading.

Some 22.8m children are out of school — roughly equal to the entire population of Sri Lanka — and the female literacy rate languishes at 49pc. Last week’s International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities in Islamabad laid bare these truths, though solutions remained elusive. The gathering had a notable absentee. The Taliban regime in Afghanistan, where girls are banned from secondary education, declined to attend. This was not surprising: its interpretation of religion appears mediaeval; even Muslim societies of yore valued learning more highly than today’s Taliban do.


Pakistan’s own educational woes, while not so extreme, are scarcely less worrying. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s declaration of an “education emergency” joins a long list of similar pronouncements that have produced more hot air than actual learning. We spend a paltry 2.5pc of GDP on education, well below the Unesco-recommended 4pc. In contrast, Malaysia and Turkey, fellow Muslim-majority nations, boast female literacy rates of above 90pc. Bangladesh has surged ahead with over 70pc of its women able to read and write. The economics of ignorance are stark.

In an era where AI and quantum computing dominate conversations about the future, Pakistan’s tech sector remains stunted thanks to its educational shortcomings. The World Economic Forum ranks the country near the bottom in educational attainment and economic participation — a double whammy that threatens to leave us behind in the global knowledge economy.

Some bright spots exist. The Danish schools initiative in Punjab, which provides quality education in underdeveloped rural areas, shows what targeted intervention can achieve. The newly established Pakistan Education Endowment Fund aims to support children from low-income families in higher education. But such initiatives are few. The conference concluded with the signing of the Islamabad Declaration, a 17-point document that recognises girls’ education as both a “religious obligation” and a social necessity. The declaration will be presented to the UN Security Council, though cynics might wonder whether it will join the growing pile of well-intentioned but ineffective international commitments.


Malala Yousafzai, who attended the conference, put it bluntly: 12.5m Pakistani girls remain out of school. Ms Yousafzai, who survived a TTP assassination attempt in 2012 for advocating girls’ education, is a powerful symbol of both Pakistan’s educational challenges and its potential. But symbols alone cannot teach children to read.

The path forward is clear: substantially increase education spending, dismantle cultural barriers to girls’ education, and transform declarations into concrete action. Until then, Pakistan risks condemning another generation to ignorance — and itself to economic irrelevance in an increasingly knowledge-based world.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025


Mining tragedies

TWO recent deadly mining tragedies in Balochistan have once again exposed the hazardous nature of work in this sector, and the lack of safety protocols for miners. Two workers have been confirmed dead after a coalmine collapsed in Harnai on Sunday, while 11 bodies have been recovered from a mine in Sanjdi near Quetta. The labourers were trapped thousands of feet underground in the latter incident when a methane gas explosion occurred on Jan 9. While the mining sector can bring significant riches to owners, the lives of those who toil underground doing back-breaking work appear to come cheap. Last year, too, we saw a number of fatal incidents, mostly in Balochistan; 12 miners perished in a gas explosion in Harnai in the deadliest accident. Each time such tragic incidents occur, the state promises to look into the matter. Even after the latest incidents, the provincial mines and minerals department has promised an inquiry. If past precedent is any guide, these unfortunate episodes will soon be forgotten, and the colliers, who live a hand-to-mouth existence, will continue to risk their lives in the mines.

It does not have to be this way. In fact, Pakistan’s mining sector could benefit if workers were protected by adequate safety protocols and compensated well for their work, and received adequate compensation in case of injury or accident. The Pakistan Central Mines Labour Federation has demanded all of these. It has called for ratification of ILO-C 176 — the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 — as well as awareness programmes focusing on workers’ safety. Activists add that the state has failed to enforce the relevant regulations. Moreover, the IndustriALL Global Union says Pakistan’s workers lack health facilities and medical care in the vicinity of mines. If these facilities were made available at the mining sites, many lives could possibly be saved if affected workers were administered immediate medical care. But sadly, greedy owners and a callous state care little for these toilers. This attitude must change; those mine owners found to be cutting corners in implementing safety standards must be penalised while the state should ratify ILO-C 176 to signal that it values the health and safety of miners. There is no doubt that mining is a dangerous profession, but attempts could be made to minimise the hazards.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025


Winter sports

FOR a country with huge winter sports potential, events in Pakistan are few and far between. Therefore, the start of the seventh season of the Karakoram Winterlude is welcome. It shows that the organisers have done well to keep interest afloat and promote new talent. Ice hockey on the frozen Altit pool in Hunza draws a huge crowd and it was heartening to see corporates getting involved in the opening match as Allied Bank and HBL clashed. At a time when many corporates have downsized or closed down their sports wings, this is a positive sign. However, that is where it all ends. For a country blessed with three of the world’s most famous mountain ranges and areas where there is snow almost the whole year, Pakistan has produced precious few Winter Olympians. Only three skiers, namely Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Karim and Syed Human, have represented Pakistan at the top winter sports event. Ice hockey’s popularity is growing, but not much is being done to promote the sport. Similar is the case with snowboarding, which is popular among residents in the north. For now, only local talent participates in sports festivals to prove their mettle.

Last week, the Pakistan Winter Sports Federation announced its annual calendar, which features just one snowboarding championship. There is nothing for ice hockey while ski events dominate. Once again, skiers will lead Pakistan’s participation at the Asian Winter Games in China next month, with Karim taking part in the alpine skiing event and Mohammad Shabbir in cross-country skiing. Other winter sports are lagging behind. There is plenty of talent but very little has been done to hone it to allow superior athletes to emerge and compete against the very best in the world. Winter sports athletes need not only specialised training but also the best equipment. If the government can provide a framework to ensure their availability, Pakistan can realise its winter sports potential.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2025