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23/09/2026

Pakistan has long sought a stand-alone, broad-based relationship with the US, and that objective is now within reach as leaders of both countries are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the UN high-level session to strengthen bilateral ties, at a time when Pakistan’s diplomatic standing is at an all-time high. The rapport built over the past year between Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance has widened the bandwidth for ties, building on deep historical roots from the Cold War, Pakistan’s facilitation of the 1971 US-China détente, partnership in the 1980s Afghan jihad, and post-9/11 counterterrorism cooperation. Pakistan has learned that cooperation centred solely on security leaves political troughs and institutional vacuums and breeds mistrust, and it now has an opportunity to craft a multifaceted model beyond transactional security dynamics. This urgency is reinforced by recent diplomacy: during the ongoing Iran-US tensions Pakistan worked closely with both Washington and Tehran to broker a ceasefire and a framework for talks, and after the May 2025 Pakistan-India war the US successfully mediated an end to hostilities, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio clarified that Washington had initiated a diplomatic reset before the war to rebuild “an alliance, a strategic partnership” and expand counterterrorism into broader economic and strategic avenues, not at the expense of ties with India.

Pakistan is one of West Asia’s most consequential states with huge economic potential, and as Washington seeks diversified supply and value chains in Eurasia it should be seen as a hub for trade, energy, transport and connectivity, while in New York both sides should reignite diplomacy with regional countries to end Middle East wars and resolve Palestine under the Board of Peace. Over the past year ties have been strengthened with nearly $1 billion approved for military hardware like F-16 sustainment packages, CT dialogues providing a roadmap against IS-K and other groups, and new thresholds in cryptocurrency, critical minerals, new technologies, agriculture and renewable energy, though implementation needs to be accelerated. For Pakistan the war on terror is not over, with the TTP operating from Afghan soil using sophisticated American arms left behind in 2021, requiring a matching platform to eliminate the threat. Finally, recalling President Trump’s promise in May last year to work with India and Pakistan on Kashmir, the author argues it is high time to put Kashmir back on the international radar as it continues to imperil regional peace, and that now is the time to take the historically successful Pakistan-US relationship to a higher, stronger level.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 23, 2026 | Revamped partnership https://share.google/EareoNmMcIFVLhRq2

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23/09/2026

In 1988 Yasser Arafat was denied a US visa and the UN General Assembly temporarily relocated to Geneva to allow him to address the assembly - a precedent the author recalls. This year is the second time the Trump administration has withheld a visa from Arafat's successor Mahmoud Abbas and other Palestinian officials for the UNGA session, leaving only members of the Palestinian mission to the UN able to attend in person in New York, and forcing the General Assembly to vote 152-3 to allow Abbas to appear virtually again as it did last year. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres deeply regretted the decision, stressing that full participation of all delegations is essential and urging the US as host country to meet its obligations.

Washington justified the ban under Section 212(a)(3)(B) and claimed the PLO and Palestinian Authority had failed to live up to reform commitments, citing their actions to internationalize the conflict through the ICC and ICJ, seeking unilateral recognition, and continuing payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians. The author notes this puts the US at odds with numerous countries that have recognized Palestine, including France. The piece ends by contrasting Washington's preoccupation with blocking Palestinians with its focus more intently on hosting its foremost frenemy, the inordinately powerful but invariably taciturn Xi Jinping.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 23, 2026 | World gone wrong https://share.google/CUxiYfi362LiK2xHI

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23/09/2026

GOVERNANCE & PUBLIC POLICIES

Strategic Planning in the Federal Government of Pakistan

Strategic planning at the federal level is the process through which the federal government defines long-term national priorities, objectives and policies and determines how resources and institutions will be used to achieve them. It involves identifying national challenges, setting measurable goals, developing policies and programmes, allocating resources, coordinating federal ministries and monitoring results. In Pakistan, strategic planning involves institutions such as the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives, Planning Commission, Ministry of Finance, Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), National Economic Council (NEC), and federal ministries/divisions. Effective strategic planning should be evidence-based, coordinated with provinces, financially realistic, measurable and adaptable to changing economic and social conditions.

Major Steps

1. Situation analysis — identify national problems and opportunities.

2. Setting priorities — establish national goals and targets.

3. Policy formulation — develop strategies to achieve those goals.

4. Resource allocation — assign financial and human resources.

5. Inter-ministerial coordination — align policies and programmes.

6. Implementation — execute approved programmes through relevant institutions.

7. Monitoring & evaluation — measure progress and correct weaknesses.

Importance

Strategic planning helps the federal government maintain policy continuity, efficient resource allocation, institutional coordination and long-term development. It also helps connect national policies with development plans, budgets and measurable outcomes.

In simple words: Strategic planning answers three basic questions: Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How will the government get there?

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22/09/2026

GOVERNANCE & PUBLIC POLICIES

Institutional Framework for Policy Coordination and Planning

Role of Planning Commission in Policy and Planning

The Planning Commission of Pakistan plays a central role in national development planning, policy coordination and development investment. It assists the government in preparing medium- and long-term development strategies and plans, coordinates development priorities across sectors and helps align public investment with national objectives. It also contributes to the preparation and monitoring of the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and evaluates development projects through mechanisms such as project appraisal and monitoring. The Commission provides technical and economic analysis to support evidence-based policymaking, while coordinating with federal ministries, provincial governments and other stakeholders.

Major Roles

National development planning and formulation of development strategies

Policy coordination among different sectors and government institutions

Preparation and coordination of the PSDP

Appraisal of development projects before investment

Monitoring and evaluation of development programmes

Analysis of economic and social development trends

Identification of national priorities and development needs

Coordination between federal and provincial development planning

Supporting evidence-based policy formulation

Promoting sustainable and inclusive development

Importance in Governance

The Planning Commission provides an institutional link between government policy, development priorities, resource allocation and implementation. Its effectiveness depends not only on technical planning but also on coordination, reliable data, political commitment, fiscal resources and effective implementation by concerned ministries and provinces.

In simple words: The Planning Commission helps the government decide what development priorities to pursue, where public resources should be invested, and how progress should be planned and monitored.

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22/09/2026

South Asia traditionally measures power and peace through territory, armies, missiles, borders, alliances, GDP, reserves and nuclear capability, with China, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh at different points on that spectrum, but the recent climate-induced disaster in Nepal has introduced another measure that does not respect borders and cannot be deterred by military superiority — the capacity to absorb shock, protect people, maintain services and recover without political or economic collapse. Viewed through that lens, the strategic map looks different: China has enormous economic, industrial and military power, India combines a huge and growing economy with nuclear weapons and expanding industrial base, Pakistan has considerable military power but smaller economy and tight fiscal space, and Bangladesh has a much smaller military and economy yet its experience with cyclones, floods and early-warning and community adaptation shows resilience is not simply a function of wealth or firepower. This contrast matters because military power is designed to impose costs and economic power sustains that effort, while climate resilience reduces the number of occasions societies are pushed into crisis in the first place, which is vital as South Asia is unusually exposed — the monsoon, Himalayas, great river systems, densely populated plains and low-lying coasts link the fates of countries that disagree on almost everything, the World Bank estimates over half of South Asians were affected by natural disaster in the past two decades, and climate stress can turn economic strength into a temporary illusion by weakening economies, intensifying water and food competition, increasing displacement and narrowing governments’ room for manoeuvre.

The paradox is striking: states spend billions on weapons for threats that may never materialize while underinvesting in systems for disasters already occurring, and climate change, like a progressively crippling disease, does not ask if a country is rich or poor, democratic or authoritarian, nuclear-armed or defenceless, as it attacks the physical foundations on which all national power rests. The lesson is not that armies are irrelevant — credible defence and deterrence remain essential in a region marked by unresolved disputes — but that defence must acquire another layer that protects from climate risks, and because climate risks cross borders, the rational response is not surrender or unilateralism but mutually reinforcing cooperation where each gains more from acting together than alone. Therefore the future balance of power should be measured in two columns: the first with GDP, reserves, technology, troops, missiles and nuclear capability that determines how much damage a state can threaten or withstand in war, and the second with reservoirs, resilient cities, functioning hospitals, protected crops, reliable grids, emergency communications, early-warning coverage, fiscal buffers and rapid recovery ability that determines whether people stay alive and institutions remain functional when the enemy is a changing climate. Climate change is the great neutralising force, so South Asia needs layered defence — military deterrence, economic resilience, environmental cooperation and human security — and peace will depend not only on preventing countries from fighting each other but on helping them survive common shocks none can defeat alone.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 22, 2026 | Climate neutral https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailNews.php?StoryText=22_09_2026_007_002

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22/09/2026

Drawing on Francis Fukuyama’s _The Origins of Political Order_ and Max Weber’s _The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation_, the author argues that the judiciary’s power lies not in coercion but in the legitimacy it can confer or deny — as Gregory VII could force Henry IV to Canossa but not depose him, a judiciary can deny an ultra vires executive the legitimacy it craves, and every system tries to cultivate belief in its legitimacy. Yet many states like North Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Russia, Belarus and Azerbaijan under Kim Jong Un, Teodoro Mbasogo, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev hold elections and have legislatures and executives acting per constitution but hardly harbour true democracy, illustrating what a recent _Journal of Democracy_ paper _‘How courts undermine democracy’_ and Prof Kim Lane Scheppele’s essay _‘Autocratic Legalism’_ in the _University of Chicago Law Review_ call autocratic legalism — the weaponisation of law. Contemporary autocrats follow a recognisable pattern: capture power electorally, fill the legislature with stalwarts and cronies, then use that legislature to amend ordinary laws and the constitution to enable ‘courts capture’ by packing courts with compliant judges and removing resistant ones, and sometimes create parallel or extraordinary courts above existing ones to disturb the legal hierarchy.

Once courts are captured, the system of checks and balances is dismantled, heads of constitutional bodies and independent agencies regulating elections and prosecuting white-collar and anti-state offences are replaced with ‘political commissars,’ prosecutorial powers are unleashed on opponents and dissent is silenced through legal process, while the bureaucracy capitulates or is shuffled to sideline dissenters and media is harnessed as an echo chamber, ensuring total control. This doctrine turns judges into instruments of the executive, as exemplified by Chief Justice Munir’s question in his writings on _The State vs Dosso (1958)_ — “Could any court... issue an enforceable writ on the 8, 9 or 10 October against the government that had been brought into existence by proclamation of President Iskander Mirza?” — using enforceability, an extra-legal consideration, to legitimise Pakistan’s first coup. Though resistance would have likely led to the whole Supreme Court being sent home, it would have denied usurpers legitimacy and demonstrated the highest form of judicial sacrifice: pronouncing an unenforceable judgment at the peril of office. The author concludes that parallel courts, courts capture, and amendments to alter judicial hierarchy and electoral laws are ex-facie facets of autocratic legalism, and Pakistan ought to be circumspect.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 22, 2026 | Autocratic legalism https://share.google/8X4qro4NoMTN0j4OC

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21/09/2026

GOVERNANCE & PUBLIC POLICIES

Institutional Framework for Policy Coordination and Planning in Pakistan

Policy coordination and planning in Pakistan involve several institutions that help formulate, coordinate, implement and monitor public policies and development plans. At the federal level, the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Division provide overall political and administrative coordination, while the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives plays a central role in development planning and coordination. The National Economic Council (NEC) provides constitutional-level guidance on economic and development policy, while the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet coordinates major economic and financial matters. The Planning Commission supports economic planning, development strategies and evaluation of public-sector development projects. Federal ministries formulate sectoral policies, while provincial governments, Planning & Development Departments and local governments adapt and implement policies at sub-national levels.

Major Institutions

Prime Minister & Cabinet — overall policy direction and coordination

Cabinet Division — coordination of federal government business

Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives — development planning and coordination

Planning Commission — planning, development strategies and project appraisal

National Economic Council (NEC) — national economic and development policy coordination

Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) — coordination of major economic decisions

Federal Ministries/Divisions — sector-specific policy formulation and implementation

Provincial Planning & Development Departments — provincial development planning

Local Governments — implementation of policies and delivery of services at local level

Importance

An effective institutional framework ensures policy coherence, coordination between federal and provincial governments, efficient allocation of resources, evidence-based planning, monitoring and evaluation. Weak coordination can lead to overlapping responsibilities, policy inconsistency, delays, inefficient spending and poor implementation.

In simple words: Policy coordination ensures that different government institutions work toward common objectives, while planning determines how resources, policies and programmes will achieve those objectives.

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21/09/2026

A national dialogue on creating new provinces/administrative units has taken centre stage, raising the core constitutional question: does the Constitution envisage creation of new provinces to change Pakistan’s geographic contours? Pakistan is a federal republic comprising Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh plus the federal capital, and Part XI governs constitutional amendment. Article 239(4) provides a specific guardrail — a bill to amend the Constitution that would alter the limits of a province cannot go to the President unless passed by that province’s assembly by not less than two-thirds of its total membership. This shows the framers understood Pakistan’s ultimate geographic shape would depend on future laws and amendments, rejecting unilateral secession but accepting that genuine national legal action could redraw the legal map, either by altering limits under 239(4) or by admitting new states/areas into the federation under Article 1(2)(d)(3). However, an amendment under 239(4) only alters the limits of that very province, it does not create a new province; for that Article 1, which defines Pakistan’s territories and presently mentions the four provinces, would have to be amended. Interestingly, provincial limits are not in the Constitution itself but delineated in the Province of West Pakistan (Dissolution) Order 1970 (P.O. No.1 of 1970) saved as existing law in 1973, and while some argue merely amending that Order would suffice, the author says that argument runs a choppy course.

The more nuanced question is legitimacy: in a representative democracy, such structural change requires a mandate built on an election manifesto, and no such mandate was given to the present government as the issue was not before voters, making it a travesty of the Preamble’s “We the people of Pakistan... through our representatives... adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution.” The Constitution was given by the people to themselves, so any change to its basic structure requires essentially a fresh mandate from the people — a constitutional imperative that must remain inviolate. Quoting Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu that policies done without asking the people and building consensus become a symbol of elites working against working-class communities, the author stresses: “Democracy works if the people are consulted” and “Democracy works if you actually ask people” — it is about voice and self-government and not imposing educated-class values without consultation, which is an affront. If the Constitution is to be wrenched out of its original bearings, people’s opinion must be sought either through fresh elections with new provinces as the main plank, or through a referendum under Article 48(6), the latter being difficult. In any case, a change of this magnitude requires the people’s will and a clear mandate, not deft manoeuvres.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 21, 2026 | Mandate is necessary https://share.google/xOYOfgUZVhlonn5gs

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21/09/2026

In his first term, Donald Trump created the Space Force as a new branch of the US military, and in 2026 the US has not only announced for the first time that it has actually put weapons in space, but also released Space Force uniforms that look identical to the Imperial Navy in _Star Wars_. The US has not revealed the exact nature of the weaponry, but military leaders have spoken about space-based capabilities to counter alleged Russian and Chinese capabilities, particularly anti-satellite systems designed to disable or blind an adversary’s eye-in-the-sky. That capability has been irksome for the US during its disastrous war on Iran, with reports that Chinese and Russian satellites provided information for Iranian drone and missile strikes enabling pinpoint accuracy against US assets, and a few weeks ago an orbiting Chinese satellite — Yaogan-50 — disintegrated into over 40 pieces, raising questions whether it was coincidence or a demonstration of America’s now-declared capabilities. China, which protested the US announcement, has itself pursued anti-satellite capabilities, likely based on the philosophy that while space-based weapons are difficult and expensive to deploy, countermeasures against enemy satellites may be an easier way out, similar to its area-denial strategy with anti-ship and aircraft carrier missiles.

The article traces the history: the first shot in the Space Wars was the German V1 and V2 rocket and missile in World War II, predecessors to cruise and ballistic missiles, but the real push to weaponise space began with the space race where the USSR scored early wins with Sputnik in 1957 and Yuri Gagarin in 1961. In 1962 the US conducted the high-altitude nuclear test Starfish Prime to warn the USSR and test if the resulting electromagnetic pulse would disrupt satellites, and with nuclear weapons in space looming, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty banned nuclear weapons or WMDs in space and moon sovereignty claims, yet development continued. In 1974 the Soviets tested the first known armed satellite, Salyut-3 with an aircraft cannon that fired a single round proving satellites could be armed, and over a decade later tested Polyus armed with a carbon-dioxide laser and cannon but it failed to launch. Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ initiative then envisioned a space-based ballistic missile shield including ‘Brilliant Pebbles’ — thousands of small orbital interceptors to collide with Soviet ICBMs — and laser-armed satellites, plans largely impossible due to cost and technology but taken seriously enough by the USSR that the costs helped contribute to its downfall. In 2007 China successfully targeted a weather satellite with a ground-based missile, the US did the same in 2008 claiming a crashing military satellite and China again in 2010, but since destroying satellites is messy, the focus shifted to ‘blinding’ them — the US, Russia and China are now developing ground-based directed-energy weapons and satellite-blinding lasers, with the US already deploying the Meadowlands Counter Communication System to fry satellites with electromagnetic beams. Khuhro concludes this is no longer the Cold War and rapid technological advances mean ideas once confined to science fiction are becoming fact.

Dawn-ePaper | Sep 21, 2026 | Final frontiers https://share.google/X2MPePXwAX3Vg4xTA

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20/09/2026

GOVERNANCE & PUBLIC POLICIES

Governance Indicators: World Bank / IMF / UNESCO / UNDP / ADB

Subtopic: Control of Corruption

Control of Corruption is one of the six dimensions of the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). It measures perceptions of the extent to which public power is used for private gain, including both petty and grand corruption, as well as state capture by elites and private interests. The WGI is based on perception data from citizens, businesses and experts collected through multiple sources.

Application in Pakistan

In Pakistan, this indicator can be applied by examining corruption in public administration, procurement, taxation, public services, political institutions and regulatory bodies, along with the effectiveness of anti-corruption and accountability mechanisms. The WGI's 2024 Control of Corruption score for Pakistan was 26.3 on its 0–100 scale, indicating substantial challenges in controlling the misuse of public power; the corresponding estimate on the older approximate −2.5 to +2.5 scale was −1.1.

Improving this area requires transparent public procurement, effective accountability institutions, stronger audit systems, digitalization of government services, conflict-of-interest controls, protection for reporting wrongdoing, and consistent enforcement of anti-corruption laws.

Key Elements

Prevention of petty corruption

Control of grand corruption

Transparent public procurement

Accountability of public officials

Prevention of state capture

Strong auditing and oversight

Transparency in public finances

Effective anti-corruption institutions

In simple words: Control of Corruption means ensuring that public authority and public resources are used for the public interest rather than private or political gain.

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