The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that the Australia men’s cricket team will tour the country for a three-match one-day international (ODI) series.
In a press release, the cricket board said that the visitors would arrive in Islamabad on May 23 and take on the Green Shirts in the first ODI scheduled at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on May 30.
The second and third ODIs of the series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on June 2 and 4, respectively, it said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday that the Australia men’s cricket team will tour the country for a three-match one-day international (ODI) series.
In a press release, the cricket board said that the visitors would arrive in Islamabad on May 23 and take on the Green Shirts in the first ODI scheduled at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on May 30.
The second and third ODIs of the series will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on June 2 and 4, respectively, it said.
“All three ODIs are scheduled to begin at 4:30pm local time, with the toss taking place at 4pm,” the press release said.
It went on to say that the upcoming bilateral ODI series would be Australia’s first in Pakistan since 2022.
It also highlighted that Australia last visited Pakistan earlier this year to participate in a three-match T20I series, which the hosts won 3-0 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
It further said that Australia also featured in ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Pakistan, including a five-wicket win against England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 22.
LAHORE: An anti-corruption court (ATC) on Wednesday discharged the daughter and son-in-law of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from a case of alleged irregularities in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company.
Special Court Judge Javed Iqbal Warraich heard two separate acquittal applications filed by the prime minister’s daughter, Rabia Imran, and her husband Ali Imran Yousaf. The judge observed that no evidence had been found linking the applicants to the alleged offence.
The j
LAHORE: An anti-corruption court (ATC) on Wednesday discharged the daughter and son-in-law of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif from a case of alleged irregularities in the Punjab Saaf Pani Company.
Special Court Judge Javed Iqbal Warraich heard two separate acquittal applications filed by the prime minister’s daughter, Rabia Imran, and her husband Ali Imran Yousaf. The judge observed that no evidence had been found linking the applicants to the alleged offence.
The judge further observed that the anti-corruption establishment (ACE) had submitted its investigation report, declaring both applicants innocent and that the case against them was not prosecutable.
He said the prosecution also stated that an accountability court had, on Jan 31, 2022, discharged other accused in the same matter without framing charges.
The judge remarked that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had failed to present evidence at that stage and even after the case was transferred to ACE and no new evidence was produced.
The judge ruled that the applicants were not required for arrest in this case and their matter would be considered in light of the accountability court’s earlier decision. The judge disposed of the acquittal pleas for being infructuous and acquitted the couple from the charges.
Previously, the couple was declared proclaimed offenders for avoiding the court’s proceedings against them. The trial court suspended their perpetual arrest warrants after they surrendered before the law last month.
The accused acquitted during 2022 included Saaf Pani Company’s former chairman Raja Qamarul Islam and former chief executive officer Waseem Ajmal besides 14 others.
Both Islam and Ajmal were arrested by NAB in June 2018 and were later released on bail granted by the Lahore High Court in January 2019.
A day before his arrest, Islam was awarded a ticket by the PML-N for the 2018 election against former interior minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan, the disgruntled leader of the party, from NA-59, Rawalpindi.
• CDA mulls tourism development at key water source• Critics cite past controversies and ecological risks
ISLAMABAD: City managers are planning to develop water sports and recreational facilities near Simly Dam, a move that may pose environmental challenges for residents.
The dam, built in 1983, is located 30 kilometres east of Islamabad in the foothills of lush green mountains and is considered a main source of clean drinking water.
The other dam in Islamabad, including Rawal Dam, which supplie
• CDA mulls tourism development at key water source • Critics cite past controversies and ecological risks
ISLAMABAD: City managers are planning to develop water sports and recreational facilities near Simly Dam, a move that may pose environmental challenges for residents.
The dam, built in 1983, is located 30 kilometres east of Islamabad in the foothills of lush green mountains and is considered a main source of clean drinking water.
The other dam in Islamabad, including Rawal Dam, which supplies water to Rawalpindi, is already heavily polluted, mainly due to uncontrolled contamination in its catchment area.
Simly Dam, located in a less-visited area, remains a source of clean drinking water. However, the federal government and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) now plan to introduce recreational activities in the area.
Recently, the CDA board approved a summary for hiring former chairman Kamran Lashari as a consultant (city curator) for the “preparation of a comprehensive citywide culture and tourism vision for Islamabad” at a salary of Rs2 million per month.
Although the official notification has yet to be issued, Lashari was recently seen briefing Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at Simly Dam, and it is likely he will prepare a plan for the promotion of water sports and tourism near the reservoir.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry on Wednesday issued a press release stating, “Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has directed authorities to prepare a workable plan for the expansion of Simly Dam, which currently supplies 40 per cent of Islamabad’s water, and to develop the surrounding area for tourism and water sports.”
During a detailed visit to the dam, Naqvi was briefed on its capacity and informed that expansion would ensure an abundant water supply to the capital. He asked officials to present a comprehensive plan for the project soon.
The interior minister also reviewed the area around the reservoir and sought a separate plan to promote recreational activities.
“There are immense opportunities for recreational activities in the area adjacent to Simly Dam. Water sports and other facilities would drive local development,” he said, adding that the initiative would create jobs for local residents and provide citizens access to “world-class recreational facilities”.
The press release noted that the reservoir is already used informally for boating and picnics but lacks formal infrastructure, safety measures or CDA-managed facilities.
It is relevant to note that Lashari served as CDA chairman from 2003 to 2008. During his tenure, the city witnessed significant development and beautification works, along with the launch of several controversial projects.
Some of the major works during his tenure included the construction of 7th and 9th avenues, three underpasses on 7th Avenue, including one at China Chowk, widening of the Expressway, the Zero Point Interchange, reconstruction and widening of several roads, development of dozens of parks and playgrounds, sit-out areas in commercial centres, installation of signage, construction of public toilets and passenger shelters at bus bays.
However, the CDA also launched several controversial projects during his tenure. Many of them faced inquiries by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and some still remain abandoned, raising questions about the efficiency of the civic agency.
In 2005, the CDA leased out a 13.5-acre plot (One Constitution Avenue) for the construction of a five-star hotel for Rs4.8 billion but handed over possession after receiving only Rs800 million. The issue has resurfaced recently as the CDA seeks to take over the twin towers due to default and non-delivery, as the developer constructed around 250 residential apartments instead of a hotel.
Similarly, during Lashari’s tenure, the CDA set up restaurants in the Margalla Hills and expanded roads with the installation of lights, attracting heavy traffic to the area, which disturbed the environment and ecosystem. The Supreme Court later ordered an end to commercial activities on Pir Sohawa Road.
During the same period, the city also lost one of its historical landmarks, a single-storey inward market designed by a British architect. It was demolished in 2007 after the CDA controversially amended bylaws to allow a multi-storey plaza, though residents and courts later intervened, citing infrastructure constraints in the area.
WHILE the United States continues to dismantle the international climate architecture it once helped build, wars from Ukraine to the Middle East are generating unaccounted emissions, consuming the fiscal space that wealthy nations pledged to climate finance, and returning fossil fuels to the centre of global strategy.
Meanwhile, 2024 was the first calendar year to go above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level; the critical 1.5°C threshold. The tipping points have arrived. What climate models warne
WHILE the United States continues to dismantle the international climate architecture it once helped build, wars from Ukraine to the Middle East are generating unaccounted emissions, consuming the fiscal space that wealthy nations pledged to climate finance, and returning fossil fuels to the centre of global strategy.
Meanwhile, 2024 was the first calendar year to go above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial level; the critical 1.5°C threshold. The tipping points have arrived. What climate models warned would happen by 2080 is happening already.
At the receiving end stands Pakistan, a country that caused less than 1 per cent of the problem and is living with an outsized share of the consequences.
Its glaciers are melting. Its monsoon no longer arrives on schedule, bringing, instead, either punishing drought or catastrophic flood. Its rivers are caught between a warming mountain range above, and hostile neighbours below.
This is not a collection of separate crises. It is one crisis, with many faces, bearing down on us. And time is running out.
In January this year, the United States withdrew from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the foundational 1992 treaty ratified by the Senate by a vote of 92-0 and upheld by every administration since. It simultaneously withdrew from the Paris Agreement, the IPCC, and the Green Climate Fund.
No country had ever done this before.
The decision was taken in a world already destabilised by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, by a Nato rearmament that has absorbed the fiscal space European governments once directed at climate finance, and by a Gulf energy crisis that has returned fossil fuels to the centre of global strategic thinking.
The Trump administration’s fossil fuel revival and Europe’s sharp turn towards defence spending reflect the same underlying judgment: that security, defined narrowly, takes precedence over survival defined broadly and over time.
Developed countries are choosing to strengthen themselves in the short term at the cost of planetary health and their economies at the cost of the ecosystems that underpin them.
Pakistan did not make this judgment, but it is living with its consequences.
The diversion from climate finance to military spending has dwarfed commitments made at global forums. Pakistan is getting what it does not deserve, stresses Ali Tauqeer Sheikh
The wars generating political realignment are also generating emissions that dwarf the reductions governments have pledged.
The Ukraine war has produced an estimated 230 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over three years.
The first 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza generated at least 31 million tonnes. Global military spending reached a record $2.7 trillion in 2024.
Treated as a country, the military sector would rank fourth in the world by emissions, accountable to no climate framework and invisible in every NDC submitted to the UNFCCC.
Military emissions remain exempt from Paris Agreement reporting, a loophole never closed.
The $300 billion climate finance pledge of COP29 is being dismantled by the same governments that signed it.
The UK cut real-terms climate finance by roughly 50pc to fund defence spending.
Germany and several other EU countries have made equivalent choices.
The US has cut international climate finance to zero, and is actively working to dismantle both its own domestic climate commitments and the global agreements it once helped build.
Closer to home, Pakistan’s military standoff with India in May 2025 distracted focus from the regional climate agenda at the precise moment NDC 3.0 implementation needed to be consolidated.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed how shallow the global energy transition remains beneath its headline numbers.
When the Strait closed, the response of major Asian economies was to scramble for alternative fossil fuel supply, reactivate mothballed coal plants, and sign emergency LNG contracts at premium prices.
India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and the Philippines increased coal-burn during the crisis. Japan and South Korea extended the operational life of coal and gas plants they had pledged to retire. Across Asia, coal is not a relic of the past.
It is the backstop that governments reach for the moment energy security is threatened, and the Hormuz closure was a reminder of how quickly that moment can arrive.
The IEA had projected fossil fuel demand peaking before 2030. The Hormuz crisis, arriving on top of the Ukraine war, has put that projection in a serious doubt.
For Pakistan, which had begun to reduce its LNG import exposure through grassroots solar revolution, the lesson is both cautionary and instructive: the energy transition is real, but it is fragile, and every geopolitical shock tests whether governments have the institutional resolve to stay the course, or the political instinct to retreat to the fuel they know.
The grand ambitions of successive COPs, from the $100 billion promise of Copenhagen to the 1.5°C target of Paris and to the $300 billion pledge of Baku, today look like agreements made in a different world.
Belem in November 2025 left the Loss and Damage Fund critically underfunded and substituted voluntary initiatives for binding ones.
Meanwhile the same governments that signed these pledges are spending that record $2.7 trillion annually on military hardware and cutting their climate finance budgets to fund it.
Multiplied across the EU and the US, the cumulative diversion from climate finance to military spending dwarfs every commitment made at every COP since Copenhagen.
The bill for that choice is being paid by Pakistan and countries across the Global South — absorbing, year after year, the consequences of decisions made in capitals far from their own.
Global targets have slipped
The Paris Agreement is failing.
In 2024, the global average surface temperature reached 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels, the first calendar year to breach the Paris threshold.
The three-year period ending in 2025 averaged above 1.5°C. Atmospheric CO2 is at its highest in two million years. The UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2025 finds that even full NDC implementation would deliver 2.3-2.5°C by 2100.
Current policies track 2.6-3.1°C. The US withdrew from the IPCC at a time when this verdict was being written.
Ecosystems are tipping
Tipping points are activating now.
Warm-water coral reefs have crossed their thermal threshold, with direct consequences for the fish stocks and coastal protection on which hundreds of millions of people in South Asia depend.
Greenland is losing 30 million tonnes of ice per hour.
The Atlantic circulation system (AMOC) that drives the South Asian monsoon is destabilising; its weakening would fundamentally alter the rainfall patterns on which Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have built their agricultural systems over centuries, reducing monsoon intensity in some zones while intensifying it unpredictably in others.
In the Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Karakoram region, glaciers are retreating faster than the global average, draining the rivers that provide freshwater to nearly a billion people across the region.
Along South Asia’s coastlines, the Arabian Sea is warming faster than the global ocean average, intensifying cyclone energy and driving saltwater intrusion into the agricultural land and freshwater aquifers of coastal Sindh and Balochistan as well as Bangladesh’s delta regions.
These systems interact: each one that tips accelerates the others.
The AMOC features in 45pc of all modelled tipping point cascade interactions.
What begins in Greenland arrives, in time, in the Indus Delta.
Pakistan pays the bill
Pakistan’s glaciers are retreating, simultaneously triggering glacial lake outburst floods in the north today and, over the longer term, threatening the dry-season river flows on which 80pc of irrigated agriculture depends.
Floods today, water scarcity tomorrow: two faces of the same crisis.
The monsoon, once the organising rhythm of Pakistan’s agricultural calendar, has become erratic and violent — arriving in concentrated, devastating bursts or failing to arrive at all.
The 2022 floods affected 33 million people and caused $30 billion in losses. Recurrent flooding in 2025 confirmed that nothing structural has changed.
Prolonged droughts in Balochistan and Sindh are driving displacement and deepening cross-border water tensions with Afghanistan and India.
The 1991 Apportionment Accord governs a river system that climate change has fundamentally altered.
The coastline is retreating under accelerating sea-level rise, storm surge, and saltwater intrusion.
Mangroves that once absorbed the majority of cyclone energy along the Karachi coast have been cleared.
The Indus Delta has contracted severely. Per capita water availability has fallen from 5,260 cubic metres in 1951 to approximately 1,000 cubic metres today, placing Pakistan at the threshold of absolute water scarcity.
Four crises — political rupture, military displacement of the climate agenda, accelerating warming and ecological collapse — are not parallel phenomena. They are one system of causation, activating the tipping points.
Pakistan absorbs the consequences of decisions made elsewhere.
Time is running out — faster than the models predicted, in a political environment more hostile than any since the UNFCCC was founded, for a country that did nothing to deserve what is arriving.
The writer represents Pakistan on the International Board of Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.
IRAN’S war has lessons for Pakistan. Can Iran survive half a century of technological and trade embargoes and infrastructural bombardment? While GDP and foreign reserves are standard metrics of survival, Iran has shown that national endurance is actually measured by the depth of human capital. Even if the political order crumbles, Iran’s foundational capacity to innovate remains an indestructible strategic armour, a result of a deliberate immersion in science, technology, engineering and mathema
IRAN’S war has lessons for Pakistan. Can Iran survive half a century of technological and trade embargoes and infrastructural bombardment? While GDP and foreign reserves are standard metrics of survival, Iran has shown that national endurance is actually measured by the depth of human capital. Even if the political order crumbles, Iran’s foundational capacity to innovate remains an indestructible strategic armour, a result of a deliberate immersion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics that created a workforce capable of withstanding shocks that could disintegrate less complex societies.
Credible climate resilience is not a stand-alone technical fix; it is anchored in a socioeconomic hierarchy that consists of five layers that must be traversed one by one. These layers move sequentially from basic literacy as a social buffer, through skilled labour and high-quality diaspora, to trade-driven technology absorption, to applied STEM innovation under isolation, and finally to a fully integrated knowledge economy where solutions are generated faster than shocks can destroy them.
Foundational literacy: Layer 1, at the base, is foundational literacy, an essential social floor that Pakistan’s 26 million out‑of‑school children currently lack. Without this cognitive bedrock, communities cannot process early warnings or adapt their livelihoods. The recurring cycle of disaster confirms that climate vulnerability is almost always a direct consequence of educational neglect. In all recent floods, losses were highest in districts with the lowest literacy. This correlation spans every province. Communities suffer disproportionately as they lack the cognitive tools for adaptive response.
Credible climate resilience is anchored in a socioeconomic hierarchy that consists of five layers.
The 2022 floods served as a stress test of this missing foundation. The maps of devastation followed the contours of neglect. Yet almost all of Pakistan’s public sector investments and the bulk of loans from multilateral development banks remain hyper-focused on infrastructural development and high-tech early warning systems, while ignoring the human capital that actually determines a nation’s resilience capacity.
Functional human capital: The trajectory of layer-climbing is evident across Asia. At Layer 2, Bangladesh has systematically outpaced Pakistan by prioritising women’s literacy and NGO-led vocational training as prerequisites for economic resilience. Organisations like BRAC and Grameen Bank reached women in rural communities with education, microcredit and vocational training at a scale no government bureaucracy could match. By securing the lower layers first, Bangladesh created a stable social floor that allows its workforce to adapt to climate shocks and market shifts more effectively, as reflected in its emergence as the world leader in certified green garment manufacturing. That floor is now being extended upward: Bangladeshi women are entering the gig and digital economy through mobile platforms, home-based entrepreneurship, and digital financial services, converting the literacy investments of one generation into economic participation in the next.
Trade-anchored upgrading: Sri Lanka demonstrated the social anchor model, where its 92pc literacy rate enabled quick recovery from the civil war and a skilled diaspora prevented total societal collapse during its 2022 sovereign default. Likewise, Vietnam transitioned from a war-devastated agricultural base to a technology manufacturing hub by committing 14pc of national expenditure to education, progressively upgrading from garments to electronics to semiconductors. These Layer 3 examples confirm that resilience layers cannot be skipped; the foundation must be built before a nation can withstand disruptions.
India shows how nations can span multiple layers internally. Though it ranks 38th on the Global Innovation Index, its variance is stark: some states function at Layer 4, while others resemble Pakistan in female literacy and school enrolment.
Applied STEM resilience: Since 1979, Iran has more than doubled its adult literacy rate — from roughly 40pc to nearly 93pc — effectively eliminating the gender gap in basic education. This rapid layer‑climbing was driven by a deliberate focus on rural areas and women, who moved from 30pc literacy to forming the majority of university entrants within a single generation. Around two‑thirds of Iran’s higher‑education output is in technical and scientific fields, reflecting decades of investment in STEM as a survival strategy.
Since the 1979 embargoes began, Iran moved from a dependency‑based economy to Layer 4, marked by technical self‑sufficiency. It built a base of over 2m university students, produced 335,000 STEM graduates a year, and developed world‑class capabilities in nanotechnology, aerospace, AI and biotechnology, producing over 95pc of its medicines domestically. It ranks 34th globally in research output, has produced Fields Medal‑winning mathematicians, and has developed stem‑cell research capacities among the top 20 worldwide. This is the essence of Layer 4 resilience: the ability to re‑engineer, design, and manufacture advanced technology when imports are denied. This knowledge resides in the minds of graduates as a form of capital that cannot be sanctioned or bombed out of existence.
Integrated innovation economy: A vivid comparison exists between Iran and Israel, two nations with divergent political ideologies but a shared resilience DNA rooted in STEM. Both identified scientific depth as a strategic necessity born of existential pressure. Israel represents the global benchmark for Layer 5: its investments have created an ecosystem where military research, world-class universities and venture capital generate solutions faster than regional shocks can destroy them.
Iran’s STEM graduate output far exceeds Israel’s in volume, but the fundamental difference is institutional. Israel converts talent into economic output through a functioning commercialisation ecosystem. Iran possesses the same scientific inputs and a literate and technically trained population, but its capacity to commercialise that talent awaits the lifting of sanctions and governance constraints. For both, the scientific depth is the ultimate guarantor of national resilience, despite high brain drain.
Pakistan’s layer-climbing: Pakistan has not yet fully secured Layer 1. As the late Dr Mahbub-ul Haq would have said, educational attainment is among the strongest predictors of climate mortality. The country’s 265 universities barely produce 445,000 graduates a year, yet fewer than 180,000 are in STEM, barely half of Iran’s, leaving a system wide in enrolment but thin in the specialised depth that turns education into resilience.
The evidence is unambiguous. Nations that invested in their people absorbed wars, defaults and disasters and emerged stronger. Nations that did not are still counting the losses. Pakistan stands at a crossroads.
The writer is a climate change and sustainable development expert.
ONE year ago, Pakistan scored a big victory in the May war against India and a round of applause went up around the country for the valiant efforts of our armed forces. Today, Pakistan is on the brink of securing a historic peace deal between the US and Iran. This is an impressive roster of victories on the geopolitical stage for a country that everyone was ready to write off only a few years ago.
But as these successes roll in, it is worth our while to remember what a strong defence is all abou
ONE year ago, Pakistan scored a big victory in the May war against India and a round of applause went up around the country for the valiant efforts of our armed forces. Today, Pakistan is on the brink of securing a historic peace deal between the US and Iran. This is an impressive roster of victories on the geopolitical stage for a country that everyone was ready to write off only a few years ago.
But as these successes roll in, it is worth our while to remember what a strong defence is all about. It is all about safeguarding people’s lives and livelihoods. With that in mind, when we look at the geopolitical successes and lower our gaze to see the foundation upon which they stand, it is impossible to escape the impression that much work remains to be done. The government has scored well on the diplomatic and defence front over the past one year. But these successes cannot mask its failure on the economic front.
Let’s start with a few obvious observations. It has taken some doing to keep the oil supply chain going through these trying days. Timely price adjustments played a part in ensuring this continuity, due to which Pakistan has not seen the massive build-up of receivables in the oil supply chain or queues at pumps that snake on for more than a kilometre. But the unavoidable impact on prices is now cascading through the economy, and the State Bank has justifiably raised the discount rate, anticipating higher inflation in the months ahead.
Let’s pause here to notice that the State Bank is finally behaving like a real central bank. It is not making nonsensical arguments like ‘this is supply-driven inflation and therefore does not require a monetary response’, like it did during the artificial growth spurt following the Covid years. Prudent and proactive monetary tightening is the right thing when the outlook shows heightened inflationary risk.
The inability of the economy to supply and safeguard livelihoods is the real testing ground of this government.
The second obvious observation is the precariousness of the foreign reserves as the trade deficits gallop along. All through 2025 and in the opening months of this year, the trade deficit has remained elevated. This is natural since the economy has shown some signs of revival, and in more recent months, is posting slightly stronger signs of activity. But in the past, this is what has always done us in: a mounting trade deficit that eats away at the reserves. We are far from that right now, but the appearance of the same trend is a bad sign. It is a key dysfunction in our economy that it cannot grow without eating away at its foreign currency reserves. So whenever growth returns, however incipient, it is always necessary to ask whether it can be sustained. It is no different this time.
What usually happens when this sign first appears is that governments (in some cases, the State Bank) start making all kinds of excuses and performing clever little tricks to try and argue away the trade deficit. In the past, for example, governments have argued that the trade deficit will disappear once the machinery being imported is installed and leads to higher exports; or that high growth will itself solve the problem of a rising trade deficit; or that the deficit is due to temporary factors; or that it is due to high oil prices only and the ‘non-oil deficit’ remains in check.
All these arguments are specious. So long as the trade deficit is eating away at the reserves, it needs a corrective response. Our history teaches us to be cautious of specious arguments that try to spin the deficit away. Perhaps in acknowledgement of this, the State Bank has said in its most recent monetary policy decision that there is a “need for further strengthening in FX buffers”, given the uncertainties plaguing the economy and its outlook. For now, the external outlook is amply supported by workers’ remittances. But the real impact of the high oil prices is yet to be reflected in the trade data, since the March import data largely reflects oil orders placed in February. The months from April onwards will show the real impact of wartime oil prices in the trade data, and that is when a more realistic picture of the vulnerabilities of the external sector will emerge.
The biggest risk facing the economy is that it cannot afford to grow without giving rise to the very instability that the government fought hard to control for two years. The return of inflation and pressure on foreign exchange reserves would jeopardise the fragile stability that has been earned with so much sacrifice. But without growth, the economy cannot supply livelihoods on the scale required for a workforce swelling by almost two million new entrants every year. The government faced this dilemma in the opening months of 2025. It was trapped in a macroeconomic stabilisation it could not afford to break out of. And it could not remain stranded within this stability forever either.
Today, after scoring some impressive successes on the defence and diplomatic front, and rightly earning the admiration of leaders of foreign countries as well as the respect of its own citizenry, it is still faced with this dilemma. The inability of the economy to supply and safeguard livelihoods is the real testing ground of this government. And on this ground, it has yet to prove its mettle.
It would be remiss, though, to not mention some tactical successes scored along the way though. One of them is the timely adjustment of fuel prices, which has safeguarded the energy supply chain. Another is the nimble manoeuvring to get the $3.5bn replenished quickly once the UAE called in its deposits. PIA’s privatisation might be added to this list. But these are tactical successes at best. The reform strategy underlying a return to growth remains missing in action. And without that, everything else is a passing spectacle.
IT appears that despite confrontational rhetoric from both sides, a more long-term agreement on cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran may be within reach.
Matters had heated up on Monday in what US President Donald Trump called “a little skirmish” between his country and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while the UAE was also rocked by alleged Iranian attacks. However, soon after these events there were signs of de-escalation, as Mr Trump said that the so-called Project Freedom — under
IT appears that despite confrontational rhetoric from both sides, a more long-term agreement on cessation of hostilities between the US and Iran may be within reach.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly said that Operation Epic Fury, the codename of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran launched on Feb 28, had also ended. Mr Trump said he had paused the Hormuz operation because of requests made by Pakistan and other countries. In reaction to the American move, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan remains committed to the diplomatic process.
While all these developments are positive, Mr Trump has refused to lift the blockade on Iranian ships, while adding later that if Iran fails to agree to a deal, “the bombing starts”. It is difficult to ascertain what the American leadership’s actual plan is: small steps to pave the way for peace, or more bluster and threats that will inevitably lead to reigniting the war?
For the sake of regional and global peace, it is certainly hoped that it is the former. Some observers have said that any possible deal will initially focus on lifting the mutual blockade of Hormuz, and that other issues, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, will be discussed later. The whole international community will certainly welcome the reopening of Hormuz, as global commerce has been rattled by its closure, with ordinary people particularly feeling the pain at the petrol pump, as their wallets are squeezed further.
In a related development, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in China on Wednesday to meet his counterpart Wang Yi. Meanwhile, Mr Trump is due in Beijing next week. It is possible that China is working behind the scenes to convince both the US and Iran to settle the issue peacefully. China has a strong interest in seeing maritime commerce restored in the Gulf, and has significant economic ties with both the US and Iran, placing it in a position to push for peace.
The whole world would welcome an end to this pointless war. The US needs to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, and give Tehran sanctions relief and other CBMs, particularly a commitment not to attack it again, so that there can be a genuine move towards peace. And Iran, for its part, must ensure free movement to facilitate stable energy supplies.
ISLAMABAD: The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has stressed the need for concrete efforts to eliminate the menace of rendering professional services by lawyers with the promise of guaranteed results or “done basis” outcomes in exchange for legal fees.
“It is high time for all bar councils of Pakistan to enact rules and regulations in their collective wisdom to eradicate the evil of rendering professional services on a ‘done basis’,” stated a five-page order issued by Sup
ISLAMABAD: The disciplinary committee of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has stressed the need for concrete efforts to eliminate the menace of rendering professional services by lawyers with the promise of guaranteed results or “done basis” outcomes in exchange for legal fees.
“It is high time for all bar councils of Pakistan to enact rules and regulations in their collective wisdom to eradicate the evil of rendering professional services on a ‘done basis’,” stated a five-page order issued by Supreme Court’s Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, who heads the four-member disciplinary committee of the PBC, the chief regulatory body of lawyers in Pakistan.
The order further emphasised that if action was taken against any lawyer, stern action should also be taken simultaneously against the client, who was equally responsible in the “unscrupulous game”.
The ruling came in a disciplinary complaint filed by Abid Khurshid against his lawyer, Advocate Samina Qureshi, from Bahawalpur.
The complainant alleged that he had engaged Qureshi on the specific condition that she must obtain an injunctive order from the Lahore High Court by all means, failing which she would refund her professional fee.
The complainant claimed that his counsel failed to argue the case on four consecutive hearing dates, thus allowing the construction of Icon Plaza, Model Town, Bahawalpur, to continue.
The counsel, on the other hand, produced LHC order sheets showing that she had appeared on every date and never sought any adjournment.
In his order, Justice Mazhar observed that there was no concept of a “done basis”, “no win, no fee”, or even the incidence of refunding professional fees to a client in the event of failure within the country’s judicial system as well as in the administration of civil and criminal justice.
“The duty of a professional lawyer is to represent [their] client in any court of law competently and skilfully to achieve maximum result, render honest, fair and trustworthy advice, but [they] cannot guarantee victory or an unequivocal outcome by all means or come what may,” the order highlighted.
“If any lawyer vouchsafes or guarantees a fail-safe result, it amounts to unprofessional and unethical conduct, which not only violates the canons of practice but also tarnishes the image and goodwill of the legal profession,” it continued.
• Israeli rights group calls decision ‘unlawful and unreasonable’• UN, Brazil, Spain demand swift release of the two activists
BEERSHEVA: An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists kidnapped by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as unlawful. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of a
• Israeli rights group calls decision ‘unlawful and unreasonable’ • UN, Brazil, Spain demand swift release of the two activists
BEERSHEVA: An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists kidnapped by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as unlawful. Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard the flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.
The two were abducted by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.
On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended their detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.
The lawyers then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention, but it was rejected.
“Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court and kept the previous decision,” lawyer Hadeel Abu Salih said.
The two activists, who are on a hunger strike, had appeared in the district court with their feet shackled.
Abu Keshek looked exhausted and sat with his hands clasped in his lap, while Avila appeared calm.
Abu Salih said her clients had been subjected to “an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy without any authority”.
She went on to accuse the courts of “giving a free hand for the Israeli forces… to do it again and again”.
Decision termed unlawful
Israeli rights group Adalah, which is representing the pair, called Wednesday’s court decision “unlawful and unreasonable”.
“This is especially egregious given that the activists were abducted from an Italian-flagged vessel, placing them under Italian jurisdiction,” it said.
Adalah has also accused the authorities of subjecting the men to continuous abuse in detention, including keeping Avila in a cold cell.
Abu Salih said Abu Keshek reported giving up water as well as food, and that the two men said authorities “keep interrogating them for most of the time, most of the day” about the flotilla, she added.
Adalah said authorities have accused the pair of “assisting the enemy during wartime and providing services to a terrorist organisation”.
‘Swift release’
Spain, Brazil and the United Nations have called for their swift release.
“It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.
The flotilla had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.
The United Nations on Wednesday called on Israel to immediately release two activists kidnapped from a Gaza-bound flotilla by Israel, and demanded an investigation into “disturbing accounts” they had been severely mistreated.
“Israel must immediately and unconditionally release Global Sumud Flotilla members Saif Abu Keshek and Thiago Avila, who were detained in international waters and brought to Israel where they continue to be held without charge,” UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement.
The week of May 6 - May 10 marks the first anniversary of the brief military conflict between Pakistan and India.
The conflict was sparked by the April 22 Pahalgam attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan.
In a dangerous escalation, New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. Pakistan retaliated by downing five Indian planes in air-to-air combat, later raising the tally to seven.
Following tit-for-tat strik
The week of May 6 - May 10 marks the first anniversary of the brief military conflict between Pakistan and India.
The conflict was sparked by the April 22 Pahalgam attack on tourists in India-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan.
In a dangerous escalation, New Delhi launched deadly air strikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. Pakistan retaliated by downing five Indian planes in air-to-air combat, later raising the tally to seven.
Following tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, and the launch of Pakistan Army’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, both sides agreed to a ceasefire on May 10 after American intervention.
The Pakistan Army named the period of conflict from April 22-May 10 “Marka-i-Haq”.
Throughout the week, Dawn will be sharing daily headlines from the brief conflict when tensions between both countries reached a boiling point.
Here’s a look at Dawn’s front page published on May 8, 2025.
The military’s media affairs wing has said that any hostile design against Pakistan will be countered with “even greater strength, precision and resolve far stronger than what was witnessed by the adversary during Marka-i-Haq”.
Last year’s military conflict with India, starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, with a ceasefire ending a military escalation between the two countries on May 10, has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by
The military’s media affairs wing has said that any hostile design against Pakistan will be countered with “even greater strength, precision and resolve far stronger than what was witnessed by the adversary during Marka-i-Haq”.
Last year’s military conflict with India, starting from the April 22 Pahalgam attack to the end of Pakistan’s Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, with a ceasefire ending a military escalation between the two countries on May 10, has been called “Marka-i-Haq” (Battle of Truth) by the state.
In a statement released late Wednesday night to mark the first anniversary of the conflict with India, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the armed forces, particularly the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) “proudly commemorate a defining chapter in the nation’s military history; one that strengthened national confidence, reaffirmed institutional resolve and validated PAF’s relentless pursuit of modernization and focused capability enhancement”.
“This historic milestone reflects PAF’s steadfast journey towards becoming a future-ready air power through smart inductions of cutting-edge systems and swift operationalisation of niche and disruptive technologies, consolidating its operational reorientation,” it said.
The statement added that by mastering the skillful employment of multi-domain operations, PAF continues to consolidate itself into a “future-focused and capable air power, fully prepared to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan in the face of the evolving nature and parameters of modern air warfare”.
“The successful execution of these operations, unprecedented in scope and novel in the history of aerial warfare, not only underscored the professional excellence of PAF but also renewed the pride, confidence and spirit of the resilient Pakistani nation,” it said.
The statement also said that Pakistan was a peace-loving country, and its armed forces embodied a mature and responsible strategic culture.
“Every effort, preparation and endeavour of Pakistan’s armed forces remains dedicated to preserving peace, promoting stability and ensuring security in the region. Peace for Pakistan has always been inseparable from honour, dignity and sovereign equality,” it said.
“Pakistan’s armed forces remain fully cognizant of the evolving geopolitical and regional security environment, as well as the aggressive capability pursuits of adversarial forces,” it said.
It noted that while the strategic environment continued to transform, the resolve, vigilance and commitment of the armed forces to defend the nation remained unwavering.
It said that the country’s armed forces continued to invest in critical capabilities, advanced technologies and professional excellence required to meet future challenges.
“More focused than ever before, they stand prepared for the future battlespace and remain ready to decisively respond to any aggression imposed upon the homeland. Any hostile design against Pakistan will be countered with even greater strength, precision and resolve far stronger than what was witnessed by the adversary during Marka-i-Haq,” ISPR said.
It said that the nation paid tribute to every member of PAF for their professionalism, sacrifice, untiring efforts and exceptional operational focus that remained pivotal to the historical defence of Pakistan’s airspace.
“PAF is and (God willing) will remain second to none, worthy of being a symbol of pride, strength and confidence for this great nation,” ISPR concluded.
Earlier this week, the military’s top brass had congratulated the nation and the armed forces on the first anniversary of Marka-i-Haq, recognising it as a “defining moment reflecting national unity, collective resolve, and an unyielding commitment to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty at all costs”.
The 275th Corps Commanders’ Conference underscored that the “national commemoration of Marka-i-Haq serves as a clear message to [the] Indian hubristic political mindset that the Pakistani nation stands united, resilient, and fully prepared”.
• Calls macroeconomic stability ‘basic hygiene’ for unlocking climate funds• WB official says global economy has resources to bridge financing gap
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has adequate local financial capacity to address the impact of climate change, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday, stressing that the country should first utilise available domestic resources effectively instead of immediately seeking international support.
He was speaking at a session titled ‘Mobilising Climate
• Calls macroeconomic stability ‘basic hygiene’ for unlocking climate funds • WB official says global economy has resources to bridge financing gap
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has adequate local financial capacity to address the impact of climate change, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Tuesday, stressing that the country should first utilise available domestic resources effectively instead of immediately seeking international support.
Referring to the devastating floods of 2022, the finance minister said the 2025 floods were even more intense and widespread, with three rivers and almost the entire country affected.
“Despite some demands to seek international funding, the government decided not to, as it deemed there was a fiscal buffer and fiscal space available,”Aurangzeb said. “Let’s first use the funds that are available now and put them to good and effective use.”
The minister said the “ball on climate funding” was now in Pakistan’s court and stressed that macroeconomic stability was as essential as “basic hygiene” to unlock climate-related financing.
He also emphasised the need for coordinated efforts among all ministries to bring the climate change discourse into the mainstream, warning that otherwise it would remain confined to academic discussions.
“It is quite clear that we have to work very closely with our counterparts, including the ministries of climate change and planning. We need to take a whole-of-government approach,” he said.
Adeel Abbas, senior climate change specialist and regional climate lead at the World Bank Group, presented global statistics on climate financing and noted that tackling climate change was a collective responsibility requiring efforts to bridge the “huge financing gap”.
Explaining climate financing, he described it as an “innovative instrument” that can utilise revenues generated through carbon finance.
“While we say $6.3 billion is required for climate, we know that more than $28 trillion was invested last year in long-term structured financing, so those resources are there in the global economy,” he said.
Dr Murtaza Syed of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank said fiscal risks and macroeconomic vulnerabilities made it “very difficult” for developing countries to access climate finance.
“We do not have enough financing going for emerging markets and developing economies, and yet the global fight against climate change cannot be won without these countries on board,” he said.
However, he also stressed the importance of domestic financing, stressing that countries like Pakistan could not rely solely on external funding to mobilise the required resources.
Pakistan Banks Association Chairman Zafar Masud said Pakistan needed to declare a climate emergency and ensure it translated into action rather than remaining a policy statement. He also proposed the “radical idea” of establishing a climate-specialised bank.
“There is no lack of funding, both locally and internationally. The real issue is mindset and awareness. People need to be made aware of how climate change can directly impact them,” Masud said.
Speaking on climate financing, Anouj Mehta, adviser at the Asian Development Bank, highlighted the issue of affordability and questioned how green bonds could be made more accessible. In this regard, he cited the examples of bonds floated by Thailand and Uruguay.
Another session titled “From Pipelines to Capital: Delivering Climate Finance at Scale” featured Alain Beauvillard, director of strategy, policy and innovation at the Green Climate Fund (GCF); Shauzab Ali, principal project officer at ADB; and Hamza Ali Haroon, regional director for South and West Asia at the CVF-V20 Secretariat.
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