DAWN Editorials - 1st July 2025
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2025 6:20 pm
PTI in disarray
TIME has not been kind to the PTI and the party paints a sorry picture today. Despite putting up a brave front for many months, the PTI is finally starting to feel the weight of its own indiscipline and incoherence. With its ideological and executive leadership still behind bars, the lower tiers are struggling to ensure unity. As a result, infighting, over matters both strategic and petty, has become the norm, with rival camps using every available platform to publicly question each other’s loyalty and motives. Recently, several PTI leaders openly acknowledged that a communication gap with party chief Imran Khan is at the heart of the party’s growing dysfunction. With only his lawyers and close relatives allowed to meet him, party leaders say they cannot verify whether messages attributed to him even reflect his intent. Meanwhile, the chaos that energises the party’s social media echo chamber is now turning inward. Everyone is a suspect; no one can be trusted. Perhaps it was public sympathy and anger that kept the party from dispersing after Mr Khan was removed from the public eye. But that moment seems to have passed as his supporters move from outrage to disillusionment.
Nowhere was the dysfunction more visible than in the recent handling of the KP budget, which was passed without Mr Khan’s consent despite prior instructions to consult him. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, long seen as one of Mr Khan’s most loyal lieutenants, initially claimed he would not act without a meeting, but though the meeting never took place, the budget was passed. The backlash was immediate. The leadership’s inability to manage expectations or explain its decisions only fed the internal discontent. Some PTI leaders have claimed that ‘establishment-backed elements’ are exploiting the party’s internal confusion to sow discord. They have alleged that disinformation campaigns and coordinated social media manipulation are being used to further weaken the PTI’s already fragile structure. The party’s leaders have said they will soon hold a joint press conference to dispel the impression that they are not united. But such gestures alone cannot address the PTI’s deeper issues. It seems that the party never realised that their leader’s charisma could not always compensate for its underdeveloped structure and lack of long-term survival strategies. Now that he is absent, it is finding itself struggling to ensure loyalty.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025
Terrorist threat
WHETHER terrorist groups have external help or are operating with local support, far too many security personnel and civilians have lost their lives in heinous attacks that show no sign of abating.
The latest atrocity occurred on Saturday, when 13 soldiers were martyred in a suicide attack in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area. The unfortunate fact is that the former Fata districts, as well as the rest of KP, along with Balochistan, form Pakistan’s soft underbelly, where terrorist groups — religiously inspired ones and separatists, respectively — seem to operate with impunity.
According to data compiled by the PICSS think tank for May, there were 85 militant attacks in that month, resulting in at least 113 fatalities, mostly of security men and civilians. These are alarmingly high numbers for peacetime. It indicates that Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy needs to be retooled so that lives are saved and terrorist groups neutralised.
The military has said that the Mir Ali attack was planned by “the terrorist state of India” and carried out by “Fitna al-Khawarij”, the term it uses for the banned TTP. Meanwhile, Asood al-Harb, a little-known outfit linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, has claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush.
When it comes to names and nomenclature, it should be kept in mind that terrorist groups keep changing monikers. What remains unchanged, though, is their nefarious intent to wage war against the state. The shadowy networks of militancy must be uprooted, while their supporters — both local and foreign — must be exposed.
If India is involved, it should be firmly told through diplomatic channels to cease such destabilising activities. Evidence of its support for terrorism must be brought before the international community, including the UN.
Similarly, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan must be warned that improvement in relations and support for the TTP cannot go hand in hand. The Taliban administration has said that Pakistan’s claims of India misusing Afghan territory to destabilise this country are “baseless”.
However, it should be remembered that a recent significant UN report on militancy released in February very clearly stated that the Afghan Taliban continue their support for the TTP.
It is true that, since then, there has been an improvement in Pak-Afghan relations, thanks to Chinese mediation, and both countries have upgraded diplomatic ties. Yet if terrorist attacks continue in the border areas, Pakistan will have reason to ask questions, unless Kabul takes firm action against all militant groups that threaten this country from Afghan soil.
While raising the issue of militancy with our neighbours is important, reinforcing our own CT programme is crucial. The writ of the state must be established in all areas so that terrorists no longer threaten civilians or target troops.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025
Solar policy
PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured the public that his government would never discourage Pakistan’s ‘solarisation boom’. He should pardon those who have been following the trajectory of Pakistan’s solar policies for taking that promise with a pinch of salt. After all, the strategy for managing Pakistani households’ seemingly insatiable appetite for solar energy, and the consequences this shift has triggered for those who cannot afford to adopt solar yet, has been anything but well-thought-out. A number of drastic steps have been proposed over the past few months which could significantly alter the economics of solar power for end users, yet their implementation is surrounded by uncertainty. A recent decision to slash solar buyback rates from Rs27 to Rs10 per unit, introduce net billing instead of net-metering, and impose limits on the size of solar systems that can be installed by households invited a backlash, following which implementation was paused. More recently, in its federal budget for 2025-26, the government proposed an 18pc tax on solar panels but later revised it to 10pc for the next fiscal year. The flip-flopping signals that the government itself is uncertain about the path forward.
There is no doubt that Pakistan can reap significant environmental and economic benefits from its solar revolution. At the same time, however, it cannot abandon the commitments it has made to power generation and distribution companies. There are tough choices to be made so that those who cannot disconnect from the grid completely do not end up shouldering the entire burden of capacity payments to power companies. Sweeping promises such as the one made by the prime minister may, in fact, add to the problem by increasing public suspicions about the policymakers’ intentions, making implementation far more politically costly than it has to be. Admittedly, this is a mess of our political leadership’s making, but it is still one that needs to be sorted out.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025
TIME has not been kind to the PTI and the party paints a sorry picture today. Despite putting up a brave front for many months, the PTI is finally starting to feel the weight of its own indiscipline and incoherence. With its ideological and executive leadership still behind bars, the lower tiers are struggling to ensure unity. As a result, infighting, over matters both strategic and petty, has become the norm, with rival camps using every available platform to publicly question each other’s loyalty and motives. Recently, several PTI leaders openly acknowledged that a communication gap with party chief Imran Khan is at the heart of the party’s growing dysfunction. With only his lawyers and close relatives allowed to meet him, party leaders say they cannot verify whether messages attributed to him even reflect his intent. Meanwhile, the chaos that energises the party’s social media echo chamber is now turning inward. Everyone is a suspect; no one can be trusted. Perhaps it was public sympathy and anger that kept the party from dispersing after Mr Khan was removed from the public eye. But that moment seems to have passed as his supporters move from outrage to disillusionment.
Nowhere was the dysfunction more visible than in the recent handling of the KP budget, which was passed without Mr Khan’s consent despite prior instructions to consult him. KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, long seen as one of Mr Khan’s most loyal lieutenants, initially claimed he would not act without a meeting, but though the meeting never took place, the budget was passed. The backlash was immediate. The leadership’s inability to manage expectations or explain its decisions only fed the internal discontent. Some PTI leaders have claimed that ‘establishment-backed elements’ are exploiting the party’s internal confusion to sow discord. They have alleged that disinformation campaigns and coordinated social media manipulation are being used to further weaken the PTI’s already fragile structure. The party’s leaders have said they will soon hold a joint press conference to dispel the impression that they are not united. But such gestures alone cannot address the PTI’s deeper issues. It seems that the party never realised that their leader’s charisma could not always compensate for its underdeveloped structure and lack of long-term survival strategies. Now that he is absent, it is finding itself struggling to ensure loyalty.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025
Terrorist threat
WHETHER terrorist groups have external help or are operating with local support, far too many security personnel and civilians have lost their lives in heinous attacks that show no sign of abating.
The latest atrocity occurred on Saturday, when 13 soldiers were martyred in a suicide attack in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area. The unfortunate fact is that the former Fata districts, as well as the rest of KP, along with Balochistan, form Pakistan’s soft underbelly, where terrorist groups — religiously inspired ones and separatists, respectively — seem to operate with impunity.
According to data compiled by the PICSS think tank for May, there were 85 militant attacks in that month, resulting in at least 113 fatalities, mostly of security men and civilians. These are alarmingly high numbers for peacetime. It indicates that Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy needs to be retooled so that lives are saved and terrorist groups neutralised.
The military has said that the Mir Ali attack was planned by “the terrorist state of India” and carried out by “Fitna al-Khawarij”, the term it uses for the banned TTP. Meanwhile, Asood al-Harb, a little-known outfit linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, has claimed responsibility for the deadly ambush.
When it comes to names and nomenclature, it should be kept in mind that terrorist groups keep changing monikers. What remains unchanged, though, is their nefarious intent to wage war against the state. The shadowy networks of militancy must be uprooted, while their supporters — both local and foreign — must be exposed.
If India is involved, it should be firmly told through diplomatic channels to cease such destabilising activities. Evidence of its support for terrorism must be brought before the international community, including the UN.
Similarly, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan must be warned that improvement in relations and support for the TTP cannot go hand in hand. The Taliban administration has said that Pakistan’s claims of India misusing Afghan territory to destabilise this country are “baseless”.
However, it should be remembered that a recent significant UN report on militancy released in February very clearly stated that the Afghan Taliban continue their support for the TTP.
It is true that, since then, there has been an improvement in Pak-Afghan relations, thanks to Chinese mediation, and both countries have upgraded diplomatic ties. Yet if terrorist attacks continue in the border areas, Pakistan will have reason to ask questions, unless Kabul takes firm action against all militant groups that threaten this country from Afghan soil.
While raising the issue of militancy with our neighbours is important, reinforcing our own CT programme is crucial. The writ of the state must be established in all areas so that terrorists no longer threaten civilians or target troops.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025
Solar policy
PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured the public that his government would never discourage Pakistan’s ‘solarisation boom’. He should pardon those who have been following the trajectory of Pakistan’s solar policies for taking that promise with a pinch of salt. After all, the strategy for managing Pakistani households’ seemingly insatiable appetite for solar energy, and the consequences this shift has triggered for those who cannot afford to adopt solar yet, has been anything but well-thought-out. A number of drastic steps have been proposed over the past few months which could significantly alter the economics of solar power for end users, yet their implementation is surrounded by uncertainty. A recent decision to slash solar buyback rates from Rs27 to Rs10 per unit, introduce net billing instead of net-metering, and impose limits on the size of solar systems that can be installed by households invited a backlash, following which implementation was paused. More recently, in its federal budget for 2025-26, the government proposed an 18pc tax on solar panels but later revised it to 10pc for the next fiscal year. The flip-flopping signals that the government itself is uncertain about the path forward.
There is no doubt that Pakistan can reap significant environmental and economic benefits from its solar revolution. At the same time, however, it cannot abandon the commitments it has made to power generation and distribution companies. There are tough choices to be made so that those who cannot disconnect from the grid completely do not end up shouldering the entire burden of capacity payments to power companies. Sweeping promises such as the one made by the prime minister may, in fact, add to the problem by increasing public suspicions about the policymakers’ intentions, making implementation far more politically costly than it has to be. Admittedly, this is a mess of our political leadership’s making, but it is still one that needs to be sorted out.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025