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Unfinished business

THE landmark 18th Amendment and seventh NFC Award radically reshaped Pakistan’s fiscal federalism by transferring greater powers and financial resources to the provinces so that authority would eventually flow closer to citizens through local governments. Sixteen years later, a new World Bank report , Strengthening Fiscal Federalism in Pakistan , has concluded that while the constitutional framework remains sound, its implementation has been patchy and ineffective. The federal government continues to run deficits because transfers to the provinces increased without a corresponding reduction in federal expenditure, or increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio. Islamabad still spends in devolved sectors, creating duplication and weakening fiscal discipline. The provinces themselves have failed to expand their own tax bases. And despite receiving larger fiscal transfers, they have devoted much of the additional resources to salaries and an expanding bureaucracy ...
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PTI boycotts AJK elections, citing regional crisis

MUZAFFARABAD: In a widely anticipated move, the PTI on Thursday announced its decision to boycott the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) general election, stating it would instead stand by the people amid the prevailing political and social unrest. The announcement was made by PTI regional president and former AJK prime minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi through a statement shared with Dawn by his press secretary. “Expressing unwavering solidarity with the aspirations, right to self-determination, and democratic rights of the people of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the PTI has decided not to participate in the elections under the current circumstances,” Niazi said. He said that the decision was not a political strategy, but a principled stance aimed at aligning with the public. Regional president says party will stand with people amid prevailing political, social unrest Pointing to the ongoing turmoil across the AJK, the former premier noted that t...
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‘Talks over hostility’

THE recent appeal endorsed by civil society members from Pakistan and India, urging the prime ministers of both states to take “meaningful and sustained” steps for peace is well-intentioned. No rational mind will disagree with the need for peace in the subcontinent, and an end to the toxicity that has marked bilateral ties for nearly eight decades. Yet it takes two to tango, and while Pakistan has on numerous occasions tried to restart the dialogue process in the last few years, India has shown little enthusiasm for talks. Over 100 individuals have now signed the appeal, coordinated by a New Delhi think tank. It includes former diplomats, academics, politicians and peaceniks from both states. The signatories have called for taking CBMs, and restoring full diplomatic relations. Ties were first downgraded by Pakistan after India’s 2019 revocation of occupied Kashmir’s special constitutional status , while diplomatic relations went further south after Ind...
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No Supreme Court judge in JCP panels for high court judge vetting

ISLAMABAD: In a significant development signaling a marked departure from the established judicial hierarchy, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has formally notified separate interview committees to vet candidates for appointment as additional judges in four high courts, with not a single Supreme Court judge included in any of the panels. The notification, issued on Wednesday and obtained by Dawn , invokes Rule 10A of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (Appointment of Judges) Rules, 2024, and bears the approval of the JCP chairperson — the chief justice of Pakistan. The committees have been tasked with interviewing candidates nominated until July 4, 2026, for the Lahore High Court (LHC), Islamabad High Court (IHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), and Balochistan High Court (BHC). Interestingly, the composition of the four committees, while varying slightly in their judicial members, uniformly draws its judicial strength from either the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) or the resp...
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PIA’s privatisation

THE management control of PIA has finally been transferred to a consortium comprising private investors and the Fauji Foundation. The development marks a new chapter in the history of the airline whose fortunes declined over the past two decades. According to an official statement, the transfer follows the completion of all local and international regulatory approvals, including permissions from global lenders and specialised tax concessions. The privatisation authorities believe the takeover will breathe new life into the airline. The consortium has paid the government Rs10bn upfront and committed to injecting another Rs125bn as fresh equity to fund restructuring, fleet renewal, route expansion and service improvement. PIA has long suffered massive financial losses, political interference and years of managerial drift. The promised capital injection could provide it with the resources it has lacked. The new PIA chairman’s emphasis on heritage, trust ...
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Haaland scores winner to send Norway into last-16 Brazil clash

Erling Haaland scored a late winner as Norway set up a last-16 showdown with Brazil at the World Cup after taming the Ivory Coast 2-1 in Texas on Tuesday. The Manchester City striker prodded in from close range, the ball dribbling in on 86 minutes for his fifth goal of the tournament. It was the first time that Norway had won a knockout game in the history of the competition. After an even first half that was slow to get going, Antonio Nusa fired Norway into the lead six minutes before the break with one of the goals of the tournament. Manchester United’s Amad Diallo was sent on for the Ivory Coast after an hour and was immediately in the thick of it, stopping a certain second Norway goal and then grabbing a terrific equaliser on 74 minutes. With extra time looming, predator supreme Haaland got on the end of a cross by Patrick Berg to make some Norwegian history. They face five-time champions Brazil on Sunday in New Jersey with the quarter-finals at stake. A match between two ph...
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Resurgent threat

THE message from Islamabad to Kabul seems to be clear: any act of terrorism inside Pakistan found to be linked to Afghanistan will invite a kinetic cross-border response. After the attack on a Rangers facility in Karachi on Saturday, the state said it had launched strikes at targets both inside Afghanistan and along the border, eliminating at least 29 terrorists, including a militant ‘commander’. The Karachi attack, in which three security men were martyred, has been linked to the Jamaatul Ahrar group, a banned outfit with ties to the proscribed TTP. This is the first major terrorist attack in Karachi this year, and marks a return to ‘action’ of the hitherto silent JuA. A detained suspect involved in the assault said he came from Jalalabad and prepared for the attack in South Waziristan. The government has reissued an order for the arrest of Afghans without valid visas from July 10, while the Foreign Office has issued a demarche to the Afghan chargé d’affaires over the Rangers attack...
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