Lebanon rescuer picks up ‘pieces’ of father after Israel strike


By AFP
November 15, 2024

Unlike many first-respondeer facilities previously targeted by Israel during the war against Hezbollah, the centre in Douris on the edge of Baalbek city was state-run and without political affiliation. - Copyright AFP Sam SKAINEH
Sleiman Amhaz

Suzanne Karkaba and her father Ali were both civil defence rescuers whose job was to save the injured and recover the dead in Lebanon’s war.

When an Israeli strike killed him on Thursday and it was his turn to be rescued, there wasn’t much left. She had to identify him by his fingers.

Karkaba then rushed back to the bombed civil defence centre to search for her fellow first responders under the rubble.

Israel struck the centre, the main civil defence facility in the eastern Baalbek area, while nearly 20 rescuers were still inside, said Samir Chakia, a local official with the agency.

At least 14 civil defence workers were killed, he said.

“My dad was sleeping here with them. He helped people and recovered bodies to return them to their families… But now it’s my turn to pick up the pieces of my dad,” Karkaba told AFP with tears in her eyes.

Unlike many first-responder facilities previously targeted during the war, this facility in Douris, on the edge of Baalbek city, was state-run and had no political affiliation.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Friday morning, dozens of rescuers and residents were still rummaging through the wreckage of the centre. Two excavators pulled broken slabs of concrete, twisted metal bars and red tiles.

Wearing her civil defence uniform at the scene, Karkaba said she had been working around-the-clock since Israel ramped up its air raids on Lebanon’s east in late September.

“I don’t know who to grieve anymore, the (centre’s) chief, my father, or my friends of 10 years,” Karkaba said, her braided hair flowing in the wind.

“I don’t have the heart to leave the centre, to leave the smell of my father… I’ve lost a part of my soul.”

– ‘Now we are targets’ –

Beginning on September 23, Israel escalated its air raids mainly on Hezbollah strongholds in east and south Lebanon, as well as south Beirut after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges of fire.

A week later Israel sent in ground troops to southern Lebanon.

More than 150 rescuers, most of them affiliated with Hezbollah and its allies, have been killed in more than a year of clashes, according to health ministry figures from late October.

Friday morning, rescuers in Douris were still pulling body parts from the rubble, strewn with dozens of paper documents, while Lebanese army troops stood guard near the site.

Civil defence worker Mahmoud Issa was among those searching for friends in the rubble.

“Does it get worse than this kind of strike against rescue teams and medics? We are among the first to… save people. But now, we are targets,” he said.

On Thursday, Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 40 people had been killed in Israeli strikes on the country’s south and east.

The ministry reported two deadly Israeli raids on emergency facilities in less than two hours that day: the one near Baalbek, and another on the south that killed four Hezbollah-affiliated paramedics.

The ministry urged the international community to “put an end to these dangerous violations”.

More than 3,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since the clashes began last year, according to the ministry, the majority of them since late September.

US finalizes up to $6.6 bn funding for chip giant TSMC

ALL CAPITALI$M IS $TATE-CAPITALI$M

By AFP
November 15, 2024

The first of TSMC's three new facilities in Arizona is set to fully open by early-2025, according to President Joe Biden - Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks
Beiyi SEOW

The United States will award Taiwanese chip giant TSMC up to $6.6 billion in direct funding to help build several plants on US soil, officials said Friday, finalizing the deal before a new administration enters the White House.

“Today’s final agreement with TSMC –- the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors –- will spur $65 billion dollars of private investment to build three state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona,” said President Joe Biden in a statement.

The Biden administration’s announcement comes shortly before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has recently criticized the CHIPS Act, a major law passed during Biden’s tenure aimed at strengthening the US semiconductor industry.

While the US government has unveiled over $36 billion in grants through this act, including the award to TSMC, much of the funds remain in the due diligence phase and have not been disbursed.

But once a deal is finalized, funds can start flowing to companies that have hit certain milestones.

TSMC is the second company after Polar Semiconductor to finalize its agreement.

“Currently, the United States does not make on our shores any leading-edge chips, and this is the first time ever that we’ll be able to say we will be making these leading-edge chips in the United States,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Thursday.

“I want to remind everyone that these are the chips that run AI and quantum computing. These are the chips that are in sophisticated military equipment,” Raimondo added.

Making these chips in the United States, she noted, helps address a national security liability.

The first of TSMC’s three facilities is set to fully open by early-2025, Biden noted.

At full capacity, the three facilities in Arizona are expected to “manufacture tens of millions of leading-edge logic chips that will power products like 5G/6G smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and high-performance computing and AI applications,” the Commerce Department said.

It added that “early production yields at the first TSMC plant in Arizona are on par with similar factories in Taiwan.”

The investment is anticipated to create around 6,000 direct manufacturing jobs.

A senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity that they expect at least $1 billion to go to TSMC this year.

Besides the $6.6 billion in direct funding, the United States is also providing up to $5 billion in proposed loans to TSMC Arizona.

While the United States used to make nearly 40 percent of the world’s chips, the proportion is now closer to 10 percent — and none are the most advanced chips.

TSMC shares were down by 0.6 percent in New York early Friday.

'Terrible’ AI has given tech an existential headache: activist


By AFP
November 14, 2024

'AI has no has no benefit to society,' said Sage Lenier

 - Copyright AFP/File Fabrice COFFRINI

Joseph BOYLE

Technology firms are ceaselessly promoting new AI products, but climate activist Sage Lenier says AI is useless, unsustainable and has given the industry an existential problem.

“AI has no benefit to society,” she told AFP on the sidelines of the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon.

The CEOs who have become enraptured by a “useless” product class have smashed the idea of tech as an essential utility.

“And now they have an existential problem,” she said.

Lenier first garnered attention as a 19-year-old student in 2018 when she founded and led a course at the University of California, Berkeley, titled “Solutions for a Sustainable & Just Future”.

She has said students like her were sick of the kind of climate education that offered no hope — she wanted to focus on the solutions not just the problems.

Hundreds joined the course at Berkeley over the years and eventually hundreds more online, and Lenier has since built a nonprofit around it and now hopes to launch a documentary series.

The California native, who now lives in New York, said she was largely positive about tech.

But her climate focus makes her an outsider at the Web Summit — “I’ll keep coming if they want me to shout at them,” she said.

Last year, she told the crowd: “Some of you could be considered directly responsible for architecting the ecological crisis.”

She implored tech bosses to embrace the circular economy, which relies on reusing and recycling rather than creating products that end up being junked.

But one year on, Microsoft, Google and others have unleashed an endless stream of energy-gobbling AI products.

They have rushed to reopen nuclear plants, pledged to build many more data centres — and crashed through their climate targets.

– ‘Waste of emissions’ –

Yet AI, Lenier said, “has a million negatives”.

“It is terrible for the planet. It’s terrible for every community that you’re running data centres in. And it’s useless. I think it’s just a waste of emissions,” she said.

She points out that it was not always this way in the tech sector.

“It was the only industry, at least in America, where for years and years they tried to portray themselves as clean, green and pro-future,” she said.

“Bill Gates has written multiple books on climate change.”

The CEOs really want the image, and succeeded in dodging the kind of scrutiny put on the fashion and automotive industries.

“Then the moment they got an opportunity, with AI, to increase shareholder returns… every single one of them slammed the red button,” she said.

– ‘So bad so fast’ –

Although Lenier came to prominence by focusing attention on the solutions to the climate crisis, she sees a bleak future coming within a generation.

“Shit is going to get so bad so fast. The food chain is going to break. We will see mass malnourishment if not mass starvation,” she said.

The power grid, too, will break down.

Against this background, products like cars and new clothes are superfluous.

“You can’t have cars in the long term. It doesn’t matter if they’re electric or not. They’re unsustainable,” she said.

“We can’t be producing 80 billion garments of clothing a year in a low carbon future.”

A year ago, she said she might have argued that tech was something different.

“It’s a piece of our infrastructure, we built our societies around it,” she said.

But with AI, “they’ve given themselves their own little fast fashion”.

PAKISTAN

Protecting Chinese investments

Khurram Husain 

November 14, 2024 

DAWN

THERE are two critical dialogues taking place between the governments of China and Pakistan. One of them concerns the rescheduling of payables owed to Chinese project sponsors by the government of Pakistan. The second revolves around protection of Chinese investments and nationals in Pakistan in the wake of deadly attacks.

There is now a string of statements from Chinese officials, going back a few years in time, stressing how important it is for them that the state of security for their nationals living and working in Pakistan be improved. Recently, we had a joint statement released on Oct 15, after the visit to Islamabad by Chinese premier Li Qiang for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which spoke of the need to “jointly create a safe environment” for Chinese investments and personnel in Pakistan.

That statement came couched heavily in diplomatic language. The security concerns expressed by the joint statement were mild compared to other statements, such as a vexed retort by the Chinese ambassador to Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s off-the-cuff remark that Pakistan is unique to the Chinese in that they are willing to invest here despite the security risks their personnel face, or earlier statements following the March attack on Chinese workers on the Dasu hydropower project.

However, the matter is far more serious. On Monday, for example, two things happened arou­­nd this question. One was a routine press conference by the Chinese foreign ministry in which the Reuters correspondent asked specifically about “recent attacks on Chinese nationals in Pakistan” and received another diplomatic answer with no specifics, using language like ‘China will continue to support Pakistan in fighting terrorism’.

The Pakistani authorities have done the right thing to not grant the request for an expanded Chinese security presence in the country.

But on the same day, almost at the same time, Pakistani officials in the city of Karachi hosted a press conference in which they provided minute details of the terror attack on Oct 6 outside Karachi airport that took the lives of two Chinese nationals and one Pakistani citizen.

The level of detail shared during that presser on the sequence of events that led up to the actual attack was impressive. Through the presser, hosted by the IG Police and the home minister of Sindh, the authorities seemed to be conveying an important message: we are getting to the bottom of this, our investigation is producing results.

The next day, Reuters put out a story saying “Beijing is pushing Pakistan to allow its own security staff to provide protection to thousands of Chinese citizens” working in Pakistan. The push by Beijing came after the October attack, which the story said has “angered China, which has pushed Pakistan to begin formal negotiations for a joint security management system”. The story was sourced to “five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations”.

The following day, another article in the Financial Times, written from Taipei and Islamabad, carried the same message. Beijing was unhappy with the security situation in Pakistan and was demanding a greater role for itself in securing its nationals from attacks. The demand to allow Chinese authorities to protect Chinese investments and nationals was originating from within the managements of the enterprises already operating in Pakistan, according to the FT article, which cited a number of Chinese executives in Pakistan.

To some extent, the request had been granted. In some cases, cited by the article, Chinese security engineers were already on the ground to set up the security plan, hire local guards, run background checks, and “gather intelligence”. But pressure is apparently mounting to grow this role.

A subtle change in approach seems to have come about in how the Chinese are dealing with Pakistan when stressing their security concerns for their investments and personnel here. In previous cases, official Chinese announcements made their displeasure with the security situation explicit, and generally downplayed other aspects of the relationship. But now that equation has been reversed.

The joint statement issued after the last SCO, for example, talks at great length about “consolidating” and “deepening” and “promoting practical cooperation”. It lists some areas where this cooperation will be deepened, such as the ML-1 railway upgradation and Karakoram Highway realignment, but points to issues to be worked out in the financing arrangements for these critical projects. And the language containing the security concerns is muted and couched in the language of overall cooperation. The same happened on Monday, when Beijing was asked specifically about the security concerns and responded by talking more about cooperation.

Privately, though, things are different, as most recently evidenced by the Reuters and FT articles, but also by numerous other off-the-record interactions that people have had with Pakistani and Chinese officials. Privately, the Chinese are raising the deteriorating security situation repeatedly, and are demanding a more intrusive role for themselves in safeguarding this security.

This presents a very slippery slope. Where would such a role end? Would Chinese guards be used? Will they be armed? Under what conditions will they be authorised to use lethal force? Will they have the power to conduct surveillance, “gather intelligence”, flag suspects, apprehend people, detain them, question them, and so on? More importantly, Chinese security guards means more Chinese personnel in the country, which means more targets for the militants. Who will guard the guards?

The Pakistani authorities have done the right thing to not grant the request for an expanded Chinese security presence in the country. But for their part, it seems the Chinese are finding out that Pakistani authorities have a performative approach to solving problems. They say things, do things, and look busy, all the while letting the problem in question fester while trying to keep it out of sight.

This is how economic problems have been allowed to fester, problems like inadequate government resources, liquidity constraints in the foreign exchange markets, low savings to finance investment with, and so on. But now the time has come to solve the security problem. And the performative approach is reaching its limits.

The writer is a business and economy journalist.

khurram.husain@gmail.com

X: @khurramhusain

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2024

PAKISTAN

Mothers in prison

Rida Tahir 

 November 16, 2024 

DAWN

INCARCERATED mothers constitute a rapidly increasing segment of the prison population in Punjab. According to data released by Punjab Prisons, as of last month, the total number of female prisoners stood at 1,218. Of these, 137 are mothers with children and 104 are under trial. The total number of children living in prisons with jailed mothers is 159, including 68 boys and 91 girls.

In 2022, the total number of mothers in Punjab’s prisons was 83. This data shows an increase of 65 per cent in their population across the province from 2022 to 2024.

Children living with incarcerated parents, as well as those left behind when a parent is imprisoned, are among the most at-risk populations. They face social stigma and isolation, with a long-lasting impact on their intellectual growth and emotional development. Despite these challenges, they are not recognised as a vulnerable group and no special initiatives are being initiated to protect their best interests.

Existing prison facilities across Pakistan were designed primarily for male prisoners during the colonial era. However, the number of female prisoners has increased over the years. Prison facilities do not cater to the gender-specific needs of female prisoners, such as pregnancy. Additionally, women are the primary caregivers of children in Pakistani society. Prisons lack the necessary capacity and mechanisms for the adequate educational, health, and psychological development of children.

The primary legislation governing the Punjab prison system includes the Prisons Act of 1894, the Prisoners Act of 1900, and the Pakistan Prison Rules of 1978. The PPR contains specific provisions for the management of female prisoners. Unfortunately, these laws are rooted in colonial-era practices and a retributive approach, lacking sufficient focus on the rehabilitation and welfare of incarcerated mothers and their innocent children. The laws are not in line with Pakistan’s international legal obligations.

The ‘UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders’, also called the ‘Bangkok Rules’ are the universally recognised standards regarding the treatment of female offenders and prisoners, and were adopted by the UN in 2010.

Rule 326 of the PRP allows women prisoners to keep their children with them in jail until they turn six. However, as per Rule 52 (1) of the Bangkok Rules, the decision regarding when a child is to be separated from its mother is to be based on individual assessments and the child’s best interests.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by Pakistan in 1990. Article 3(1) of the convention provides that “in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration”.


Children living with parents in jail face isolation.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2011 emphasised that in “sentencing parent(s) and primary caregivers, non-custodial sentences should … be issued, in lieu of custodial sentences, including in the pre-trial and trial phase. Alternatives to detention should be made available … with full consideration of the likely impacts of different sentences on the best interests of the affected child(ren)”.

Therefore, courts should collect data on the number of dependent children of parents involved in legal conflicts and then take a balanced view, weighing the best interests of the affected children against the severity of the parent’s offence.

Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that “non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and women with dependent children shall be preferred” for non- violent crimes, in line with Rule 64 of the Bangkok Rules.

Punjab has an effective Probation and Parole Service. Several strategic initiatives have been taken to enhance the effectiveness of the service. This includes the Offender Management Information System to centralise and streamline the tracking of offender information. Release on bail at the pre-trial stage along with probation and parole should be utilised as alternatives to imprisonment. The Punjab Legal Aid Agency has also been established under the Punjab Legal Aid Act, 2018. However, it is not effectively working for the protection of the rights of prisoners.

Punjab should establish a provincial hu­­man rights commission similar to Sindh’s, which is empowered by the Sindh Pro­tection of Human Rights Act, 2011. The Sindh Human Rights Commission raises awareness, inspects jails, recommends improvements, and investigates human rights violations by public servants. A similar body in Punjab would enhance prison conditions.

The writer is a barrister of Lincoln’s Inn and an advocate of the high courts of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

Cyber sovereignty

Sanaullah Abbasi

DAWN

November 16, 2024 

FOR a modern society, the intersection of rights and governance in the digital sphere should become an area of pressing concern.

As scholar Evgeny Morozov observes, “the internet is a reflection of humanity with all its beauty and ugliness”.

The statement above aptly captures the complexities of Pakistan’s evolving digital environment, which hosts millions of people who participate in substantive online engagement. The country’s internet penetration is projected to reach approximately 111m users this year. While this growth suggests immense technological advancement and connectivity, it also presents significant challenges, which require an in-depth analysis.

An assessment of the dynamics of Pakistan’s internet usage reveals a diverse and multifaceted online experience: Facebook leads with 44.5m users; it is followed by YouTube with 71.7m, TikTok has 54.38m and Instagram has 17.3m. Despite such vibrant and large-scale engagement on social media platforms, the digital landscape faces a number of challenges. Amid declining global internet freedom, Freedom on the Net 2024, a report from the Washington-based, nonprofit Freedom House, classifies Pakistan as ‘not free’ with a pathetic score of 27 out of 100.

The scale of online harassment — there are more than 3,000 reported cases that predominantly involve women — exacerbates the situation and raises concern about safety and equity in cyberspace. Moreover, data security and privacy breaches have resulted in a climate of distrust — over 20 documented infringements have adversely affected more than 1m people.


The rapid evolution of cyberspace demands a new social contract.

The economic ramifications of such challenges are considerable. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority estimates show that daily internet outages lead to approximately Rs3.5 billion worth of losses; annually, these disruptions account for about 2pc of the national GDP, which means that a total of Rs540bn are lost. The e-commerce sector is particularly hard hit, as it suffers daily damages to the tune of Rs750m. These economic implications underscore the urgent need for improved infrastructure and regulatory oversight in the country’s internet governance.

In response to this spate of problems, the government has introduced regulatory frameworks aimed at mitigating online misconduct and protecting digital rights. A preliminary step towards securing digital commerce was the Electronic Transaction Act, 2002, and then the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, which criminalised the various violations that plague the integrity of the digital space. But the Punjab Defamation Act, 2024, is viewed as a draconian law that seeks to curb free speech.While the Cybercrime Investigating Agency is seen as a worthy instrument of law enforcement in the country, its long-term value remains uncertain.

In the broader context of rights, while the 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria stressed on the primacy of dignity, life and liberty over property rights, Sigmund Freud’s assertion that “unexpressed emotions will never die; they are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways”, is particularly relevant to Pakistan, where unaddressed grievances manifest as anti-social disorders that require sustained treatment.

However, the challenges faced by Pakistan resonate with the international commentary on cyber rights and governance. International organisations, inc­luding the United Nations, have highlighted the need for regulatory frameworks to monitor the development and use of artificial intelligence, especially because so­­c­ial and technological revolutions have always coexisted. Yuval Noah Harari, in A Brief History of Tomorrow, warns of the existential threats posed by unregulated AI, particularly in authoritarian regimes, and underscores the necessity to prioritise human rights and dignity.

The rapid evolution of cyberspace demands the establishment of a new social contract, which is nationally and internationally grounded in specialised cyber laws on AI, currency and governance mechanisms to criminalise rights violations.

Finally, navigating the complexities of contemporary digital interactions demands that Pakistan addresses these challenges, and also works towards creating a framework that empowers its citizens, granting them the freedom to safely engage with internet rights for innovation, expression and opportunity. These internet rights have given birth to a scientific and societal revolution.

The writer has a PhD degree in law. He is former DG, FIA and currently a faculty member at SZABUL Law University, Karachi.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

PAKISTAN

Unrestricted freedom of speech contributing to degradation of moral values in societies: army chief

Dawn.com 

November 15, 2024 

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir speaking in Islamabad on Nov 15, 2024. — @PTVNewsOfficial on X

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Friday addressed the impact of technology in spreading false information, reiterating that unrestricted freedom of speech was “contributing to the degradation of moral values in all societies.”

Gen Munir was speaking on the topic of “Pakistan’s role in peace and stability” at the Margalla Dialogue 2024 in Islamabad, organised by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI).

According to a statement issued by state broadcaster PTV on X, the army chief said, “Unrestricted freedom of speech is leading to the degradation of moral values ​​in all societies.”


He said that while technology had played an important role in the dissemination of information, “the spread of misleading and incorrect knowledge was a major challenge”.

“Without comprehensive laws and regulations, false and misleading information, and hate speech will continue to destabilise political and social structures,” he said.

Today’s statement was the latest in a long line of warnings from the army chief and the military about the dangers of misinformation, that particularly spreads through social media posts.

Over the past couple of years, social media campaigns against the army have escalated, reflecting broader tensions within the country’s political and social fabric. The government, often in tandem with the military, has responded with stringent measures aimed at controlling the narrative and stifling dissent.

These measures have led to numerous arrests and legal actions against journalists and social media users accused of spreading “negative propaganda” about the military and the state, resulting in restricted internet access and bans on platforms like X.

Previously, Gen Munir warned that social media was being exploited to spread anarchy and false information aimed at the armed forces, while the term ‘digital terrorism’ is now being used to describe the actions of online critics accused of spreading falsehoods.

In August, during an Independence Day speech, the army chief stressed the importance of investigating and verifying information so as not to cause consternation among the people.

He had said that while the Constitution allowed for freedom of speech, it also contained “clear limits to what constitutes free speech.”

“To the inimical forces, let it be clear; that regardless of the multilayered and multidimensional threats piled up against us we stand united and reassured. Traditional or non-traditional, dynamic or proactive, whatever form of warfare is applied against us, our retribution will be sharp and painful and we will certainly strike back,” he had said.

“For indeed, we know that freedom is not for free, it costs many great sons and daughters, and we are always ready for that. I have full faith and confidence that the people of Pakistan and its security forces will never relent and let anyone cast an evil eye on this great country.”

‘TTP home to all terrorist proxies worldwide’

During his speech, Gen Munir also talked about how violent non-state actors and state-sponsored terrorism had become major global challenges.

“Terrorism is a common challenge for all humanity globally, and Pakistan has an unwavering commitment to the fight against terrorism,” he said.

He also stated that a robust border management system had been implemented to secure Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan against Fitna al Khawarij, who he said was “home to all the terrorist organisations and proxies of the world”.

In July, the government, through an official notification, designated the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.

The country has lately witnessed a sharp uptick in the number of attacks targeting security forces, other law enforcement agencies, and security checkpoints, particularly in Balochistan and KP.

Attacks escalated after the TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022 and vowed to target security forces.

Islamabad maintains that the TTP uses Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan and has repeatedly asked Kabul to deny safe havens to the outlawed group and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan. Afghanistan has denied the allegations.

“Pakistan expects the Afghan Interim Government not to allow Afghan territory to be used for terrorism and to take strict measures in this regard,” Gen Munir reiterated today.

Army chief seeks stricter rules for social media

Baqir Sajjad Syed 

November 16, 2024 

DAWN

ISLAMABAD: Army Chief General Asim Munir on Friday observed that unrestricted freedom of speech was leading to the degradation of moral values in all societies.

In wide-ranging remarks at the Margalla Dialogue, hosted by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute, subjects such as India’s Hindutva ideology, occupied Kashmir, Pakistan’s role in peacekeeping missions, terrorism from Afghan soil, border management, freedom of speech, false information, etc all came up.

The army chief reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to remaining neutral in international conflicts and staying away from bloc politics while continuing its role in fostering global peace and stability.

Addressing the growing issue of fake news, he said, “While technology has played a pivotal role in the dissemination of information, the spread of misleading and incorrect information has become a significant challenge.”

Says country will stay away from bloc politics; speaks of TTP’s potential threat beyond Pakistan’s borders

“Without comprehensive laws and regulations, false and misleading information, along with hate speech, will continue to destabilise political and social structures,” Gen Munir stated, advocating for stricter regulation of social media and a reduction in online freedoms.

Interestingly, the session featuring Gen Munir’s remarks was held a day after the two-day conference officially concluded.

The audience comprised members of the diplomatic community, serving military officials, and representatives from Islamabad-based think tanks.

Non-alignment policy

The event served as a platform for the army chief to reiterate Pakistan’s long-standing policy of non-alignment, as he said, “We will not become part of any global conflict but will continue to play our role for peace and stability in the world.”

Pakistan’s policy of avoiding bloc politics has been a consistent part of its foreign policy. However, the timing of this renewed emphasis is significant, coinciding with Washington’s preparations for a transition following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.

The escalating rivalry between the US and China remains the defining global competition of the current era, with profound implications for international alliances, economic systems, and strategic stability. This high-stakes contest is shaping the future of global governance and international order.

Gen Munir’s message was apparently addressed to both Washington and Beijing, emphasising Pakistan’s commitment to peace and neutrality.

However, notably absent from the publicly shared details of his speech was any mention of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The army chief focused instead on Pakistan’s broader contributions to global peace and stability. He highlighted Pakistan’s significant role in the UN peacekeeping missions, noting that 235,000 Pakistanis have served in these missions, with 181 making the ultimate sacrifice.

In a pointed message to the West, particularly the United States, the army chief underscored that the extremist ideology espoused by India’s ruling junta is not only a threat to Pakistan but also poses risks to Indian-origin citizens in America, the UK, and Canada.

While speaking about India’s ongoing atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Gen Munir described these actions as an extension of the Hindutva ideology.

“The resolution of the Kashmir dispute, in accordance with United Nations resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, is inevitable,” he asserted.

Addressing the terrorism threat from Afghanistan, Gen Munir emphasised Pakistan’s expectation that the Taliban administration would prevent the use of Afghan territory for terrorist activities and take stringent measures to curb such threats.

“A comprehensive border management regime has been established to secure our western borders,” he stated, highlighting Pakistan’s efforts to prevent unauthorised cross-border movement.

He also warned about the potential for the banned TTP to evolve into a threat beyond Pakistan’s borders.

Referring to the proscribed group as Fitna al-Khawarij, he pointed out its connections to several international terrorist organisations and proxies.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

Mobile internet services suspended in certain areas of Balochistan to ‘ensure public safety’, says PTA

Nadir Guramani

Published November 15, 2024 

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday announced that mobile internet services in certain parts of Balochistan have been suspended to “ensure public safety”.

Pakistan, particularly the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, has witnessed a sharp uptick in terrorism-related incidents over the past year.

At least 26 people were killed and 62 injured after a suicide blast ripped through a Quetta Railway Station on November 9, local authorities and hospital officials said.

On September 26, at least two policemen were among a dozen people injured by a bomb attack, which targeted a police vehicle in Quetta.

Officials said that unidentified miscreants had parked an explosives-laden motorcycle in the Bhosa Mandi area of Eastern Bypass. When a police vehicle reached the spot, an explosion was triggered, ostensibly using a remote-controlled device.

“The general public is hereby informed that, under the directives of authorised departments, mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended in certain areas of Balochistan,” Friday’s statement said.

The statement added that the step was taken “to ensure public safety given the security situation in these areas”.

It, however, did not specify the areas where mobile internet services have been suspended or provide details on the duration of the suspension.

To ensure security within the province, the Balochistan government decided to develop a provincial action plan to significantly enhance governance and security across the province.






Balochistan Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan on Wednesday briefed a high-level meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, on the proposed plan.

The chief secretary said that a comprehensive strategy is being developed to effectively counter terrorism, crime, extortion and smuggling cases with a focus on enhancing enforcement measures.

Throwing the VPN baby out…

Abbas Nasir 

November 17, 2024 

DAWN

THOSE who govern us may have expertise in multiple areas, but their ability and propensity to score own goals seem without parallel. None of us will have to look too hard to find examples. The latest of these are curbs on the internet.

Pakistan often competes with India because it sees its eastern neighbour as a fierce rival and often gives the impression it has the desire and the ability to match it in all spheres. But does any Pakistani who believes this ever reflect with honesty on whether it is true?

India is about four times bigger than Pakistan in terms of land mass and five to six times larger in population. Now, if we were competing like for like, we’d have been justifiably smug if, for example, our trade volume, foreign exchange reserves, GDP and other key development indicators reflected this proportion.

Who doesn’t know the history which tells us that while our eastern neighbour had political (leadership) continuity well past its first decade as an independent state (16 years to be precise), saw meaningful land reforms and investment in education, with at least five world class IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) set up within the first 14 years of its existence. Not forgetting the passage of its first constitution in 1950.

Hugely power-hungry players and their petty agendas take precedence over what is vital for the collective good.

In our case, a similar period of our existence saw the father of the nation passing away within 13 months of independence, assassination of his political heir apparent a few years later, and then a devastating and debilitating game of thrones which witnessed politicians and civil-military bureaucrats passing through a revolving door in power grabs, sanctioned by a superior judiciary that sullied itself and set the theme for years to come.

While India stayed on the democratic course, Pakistan strayed and strayed and strayed from it, in a tradition that continues to this day. The one area where Pakistan appeared to be ahead was in economic growth and development, funded by throwing in its lot with the West (read: the US) during the Cold War years and beyond.

In different forms, this slight edge continued till the early 1990s, when Manmohan Singh became India’s finance minister and embarked on an unprecedented reform and deregulation plan, which was to transform India’s economy and fate within a few years. There has been no looking back for it since.

Of course, critics of any such analysis would ask if Indian society is any better than Pakistan’s as a result of this economic growth and development. They’d cite the rise of Hindutva ideology and list its negative impact on the country and its unity. That would be valid criticism, as that is true.

Any such analysis does not for a moment suggest that Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was wrong in seeking and securing a separate homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent. He was right. It was his tragic death soon after independence that pushed Pakistan off track and into the direction in which it finds itself today.

The religious intolerance and strife in society and the extra-constitutional role and transgressions of various power players in the country since Mr Jinnah’s passing would have enraged him no end, and, frankly, they would not have happened had he lived through the initial years of Pakistan. But he did not.

What we have as a result is an unmitigated mess where various hugely power-hungry and self-righteous players and their petty agendas take precedence over what is vital for the collective good of the country and its citizens.

While many executives of Indian origin are now at the helm of global technology giants (a tribute to the quality education imparted by the IITs, 23 of which exist today with an enrolment of nearly 100,000 students at any given time), we are still debating whether free access to the internet is highly desirable or anathema to our society.

I became aware through an anecdote of the quality of IIT education when, in the early 1990s, my nephew, then at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), told me that he was quite surprised to see some Indian students transferring directly from IITs to MIT undergrad programmes.

The result of this education and Dr Singh’s reform was that the Indian tech sector grew exponentially, like the rest of the economy. India today is home to some of the world’s leading technology companies, and their software exports total more than $200 billion a year, and are likely to grow further. India’s exports are services-led. So should ours.

Pakistan’s software exports are around $3.2bn annually. By no means is this comparison meant to run down our companies and IT professionals but merely to demonstrate the growth potential. Our firms have performed so well even when unsupported by government policy — not just unsupported, but often restricted, as is happening with this new VPN allergy that the rulers have developed.

Whatever the rationale they have cited for restricting free access to the modern tools of communication and information technology, it will not stand the test of time nor sanity. Contentious political issues will not be resolved by turning off the IT tap.

In fact, it is tantamount to turning off the water, food supply (even oxygen) to an entire city’s population because hiding among them are some terrorists. Any law enforcement has to be targeted and pinpointed. This collective punishment is self-defeating.

Instead of scoring own goals, those running the country should reflect and ask themselves whether they wish to see Pakistan as a modern developing/ developed state with its abundant youth talent contributing to its development, earning it billions in badly needed foreign exchange, or a dysfunctional isolationist security state perpetually in need of bailouts with all their negative consequences.

The writer is a former editor of Dawn.

abbas.nasir@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2024

BALOCHISTAN IS A COUNTRY

No quick fixes in Balochistan

Rafiullah Kakar 

Published November 16, 2024 

DAWN

THE deadly terrorist attack in Quetta has reignited debates surrounding the security situation in Balochistan. Predictably, hawkish voices have sought to discredit advocates for political reconciliation. This knee-jerk reaction merits a nuanced response.

There is no question that the escalation of violence by Baloch separatists has resulted in appalling attacks against innocent civilians, notably labourers, coal miners, truck drivers and others. These acts warrant unequivocal condemnation, and it is imperative that we stand united in denouncing violence against citizens merely seeking to work and live in peace.

Nonetheless, during such tragic situations, we must also guard against those who push their agenda for intensified repression of the Baloch people. Here’s why we should not adopt their hawkish narrative.

First, the Baloch insurgency is rooted in a deeply entrenched popular grievance stemming from decades of systemic political exclusion and socioeconomic marginalisation and exploitation. This grievance is pervasive, resonating across the spectrum of pro-state Baloch leaders, nationalists, and insurgents alike. Baloch grievances have historically been met with a combination of political engineering — co-optation and installation of pliant political voices — and coercion. This dual strategy may have produced an illusion of stability, but it has reinforced the underlying resentment and perception of disenfranchisement.

The reality is that insurgents have drawn strength from the very policies intended to curtail them.

The post-18th Amendment period presented a critical opportunity to foster political reconciliation and stability. Yet this opening was largely squandered. While the amendment was inadequate in its ability to address the underlying institutional drivers of Balochistan’s marginalised status, it still represented a major step towards federal harmony.

Through political and fiscal decentralisation, the amendment briefly pacified tensions, as Baloch nationalists largely engaged in the parliamentary process with renewed hope. However, this optimism was short-lived. The establishment’s de facto power at the provincial level not only endured but expanded.

Indeed, political developments since the 18th Amendment have only amplified grievances. Over the past decade, the province has seen a rapid turnover of six elected chief ministers (excluding caretaker leaders). At least two exited through the threat of no-confidence votes, allegedly backed by powerful elements in the establishment. The irony is that, despite the frequent reshuffling, the principal actors have remained nearly the same, though the political parties involved have changed because this cohort of ‘electables’ shifts political allegiances every five years at the behest of the state. This cycle of political musical chairs has left governance and public service delivery in a shambles, with little accountability.

Public procurement, jobs, and development funds have become prime conduits for rent-seeking and corruption. Street-smart politicians have adopted a simple formula for securing and retaining the chief minister’s post: the development budget is effectively parcelled out to MPAs, with the largest shares allocated to key ministers, heads of coalition partners, and non-elected ‘notables’. This approach has proven so effective that MPAs have often disregarded party lines to support the treasury benches, even when in opposition. Hence an elite class of ever-green politicians, along with their allies in the military and civil bureaucracy, have allegedly accumulated wealth and influence.

In the past, my critique of the corruption and misgovernance in Balochistan has been used by some to argue against the 18th Amendment and the seventh NFC Award. However, these issues are not a failure of decentralisation per se. Rather, the situation is an indictment of elite capture perpetuated primarily by state-sponsored political engineering.

The practice of political engineering has only intensified. The current provincial government, brought to power after the widely criticised elections of February 2024, arguably stands as one of the least legitimate coalitions in the last three decades. This persistent installation of pliant figures has eroded the legitimacy of parliamentary politics in the eyes of citizens. At the same time, state heavy-handedness has grown more pronounced: enforced disappearances of Baloch students and activists, mistreatment of peaceful protesters, and the recent strong-arming of BNP-M senators have fuelled distrust.

What state officials fail to realise is that such tactics serve only to bolster the Baloch insurgents’ narrative, who adeptly exploit these actions to portray the federal parliamentary system as ineffective and indifferent to Baloch grievances. Akhtar Mengal’s resignation from parliament stands as a striking illustration of this unfortunate reality.

In light of these realities, any strategy for peace that fails to address the foundational grievances underlying the insurgency is bound to fail.

Secondly, those advocating a more aggressive response appear to suffer from political amnesia. This hawkish stance has been the prevailing strategy for over two decades. The outcomes speak for themselves. The bitter reality is that insurgents have drawn strength from the very policies intended to curtail them.


Genuine political reconciliation, with few exceptions, has rarely been given a chance. One notable instance was the short-lived efforts of Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, whose tenure as chief minister saw an attempt at reconciliation undermined by the establishment, whose reliance on their Baloch protégés took precedence over fostering an authentic dialogue with Baloch nationalists.

The oversimplified question posed by hawks —‘how can one negotiate with those who don’t want to talk?’— obscures a more complex reality. In the climate of alienation, we may be approaching a point of no return. The situation has been compounded further by the changed character of the Baloch insurgency, where a younger, educated and more radical cadre calls the shots. The insurgency’s increasingly urban and decentralised nature renders traditional reconciliation efforts insufficient, even if all other factors were conducive.

Clearly, there are no simple solutions or quick fixes. However, confidence-building measures could help lay the groundwork for future political engagement. At a minimum, such CBMs should achieve these objectives: ensuring genuine political representation, ending enforced disappearances, and reducing the reliance on force. CBMs along these lines could open the door to a path of political reconciliation. Short of such CBMs, the future of Balochistan looks bleak.

Balochistan politics

Rafiullah Kakar 

Published November 16, 2023
DAWN

BALOCHISTAN has again captured the spotlight, courtesy of Nawaz Sharif’s strategic foray into the province to court electables from BAP and other parties in a bid to solidify PML-N’s position ahead of the polls. The influx of over two dozen electables into PML-N begs a critical evaluation of Islamabad’s approach towards Balochistan. The national discourse has almost always attributed the plight of Balochistan to its own predatory and corrupt political elite, particularly the tribal sardars. While Balochistan’s people generally agree with this assessment, they stress a crucial exception: these predatory elites owe their sustenance primarily to the patronage emanating from Islamabad.

The genesis of the predatory political behaviour of traditional elites in Balochistan can be traced to the tribal governance system of the British. Popularly known as the ‘Sandeman system’, the colonial frontier governance model corrupted tribal social structures and fortified the position of tribal sardars by extending to them patronage in exchange for performing specific administrative functions. Tribal sardars thus became integral to a two-way patron-client relationship, acting as both clients of the colonial state and patrons of their tribal subjects.

The postcolonial state perpetuated this policy of ‘indirect rule’ through the tribal sardars. Although the introduction of representative democracy opened avenues for commoners to enter the political arena, the de facto power of the sardars endured, courtesy of the patronage received from Islamabad. The Islamabad-sardar alliance symbolises a marriage of convenience, with the state providing patronage in return for sardars’ countering assertive Baloch nationalists and downplaying thorny issues straining Baloch-Islamabad ties.

Since Balochistan’s establishment as a province in 1970, it has predominantly witnessed rule by Islamabad-backed tribal elites. In the period from 1970 to 2023, Balochistan experienced civilian rule for only 28 years, with countrywide parties governing for approximately 22 years (82 per cent), leaving ethno-regional parties with a mere six years (18pc). Countrywide parties like the PML-N, PPP, and PTI have remained primary conduits for the traditional sardars and newly emerging electables, generally hailing from the mercantile class. They have switched political allegiances frequently. Despite their penchant for political nomadism, these turncoats find ready acceptance in the very parties they had deserted previously.

Ruling through electables has hindered parties’ organic growth.

In the current scenario, the influx of electables into the PML-N raises eyebrows about the party’s strategy for the restive province. Given the proclivity, and proven track record, of these electables to change political loyalties opportunistically, the PML-N leadership should prioritise the medium- and long-term goal of cultivating a genuine support base among the masses. Of all the parties, the PML-N should know better that these electables are trustworthy neither in the short nor medium term.

It was only in 2018 that the PML-N chief minister in Balochistan, Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, was deserted by more than two-thirds of his own party members in support of a no-confidence motion filed by the opposition. Requiring a simple majority (33 votes) to continue as Leader of the House, the PML-N, with 21 members in the provincial assembly, should have comfortably thwarted the motion with the support of coalition partners whose combined strength was 25. However, it couldn’t retain the loyalty of even nine out of 21 members and collapsed like a house of cards. Despite this experience, the PML-N leadership appears reluctant to learn from the past. The opportunistic and inconsistent behaviour of countrywide parties to­­wa­rds political turncoats ren­­­ders them susceptible to ex­­ternal ma­­­nipulation when political fortunes reverse.

This policy of ruling the province through electables has hindered the organic growth of political parties and fostered the growth of non-partisan, predatory political behaviour in the province.

Further, it has fostered and cemented patronage-based provision of public goods and services at the expense of systemic reforms and service delivery. Lastly, it has weakened the public accountability of elected representatives, who increasingly rely on state patronage rather than popular support to enhance their chances of re-election.

In conclusion, the embrace of proven turncoats carries damaging implications for both political culture and public service delivery. Moving forward, the countrywide parties and the ruling elite in Islamabad, at the minimum, must acknowledge their complicity in Balochistan’s crisis of political leadership rather than shifting the blame onto the province’s citizens.

The writer is a public policy and development specialist from Balochistan.
X: @rafiullahkakar

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

What Kamala’s loss portends

The scale of Trump’s resurgence confirms that his 2016 victory wasn’t a fluke.

OPINION
Anis Shivani 

November 16, 2024

DAWN

MUCH of the election postmortem predictably focuses on the mistakes made by Kamala Harris, but I want to take a step back for a big-picture explanation of the Democrats’ across-the-board losses in the 2024 elections.

No doubt Joe Biden and his quick-fix successor’s missteps contributed to the wipeout, but the fundamental reason for the latest liberal setback against the ballooning hypernationalist threat is the political paralysis the declining empire confronts in its last days.

Running with discredited neocons like Liz Cheney, refusing to let a Muslim American speak during the convention, and hoping to run on vibes and joy alone were terrible concessions to the consultant-driven politics of corporate empowerment, but why did the Democratic Party prefer self-marginalisation rather than make any real effort to address economic pain and end the wars?

The scale of Donald Trump’s resurgence is confirmation that his initial 2016 victory wasn’t a fluke. Rather, the Obama era of strident identity politics plus pint-sized economic initiatives has received a definite rebuke. The 2024 election bears comparison to 1980 and 2000 for the working class’s rejection of the very policies neoliberals thought would benefit them. I wouldn’t describe it as realignment, which was mistakenly applied to 2004 and 2008 as well. This designation is thrown around by political operatives every few years, and except for 1968, in the wake of the Vietnam debacle and the South’s backlash towards civil rights legislation, is rarely applicable.

Trump will probably overreach in dismantling the administrative state as per Project 2025. The attempts to finish off the regulatory state in every sphere of life will cause unbearable pain. He will also try to impose stiff universal tariffs and implement mass deportations through administrative means and actual roundups. As these measures reignite inflation, his newly assembled coalition of working-class voters will shatter. By the next electoral cycle, they will be eager to move on, not that there will be any help forthcoming from the De­­m­ocrats in alleviating their declining quality of life.

Trump 2.0 is a different beast than the first incarnation. Inchoate isolationist tendencies — really, the desire of empire to terminate itself — have lately merged with the billionaire class’s overt interest in returning to the pre-New Deal era of zero regulation, buttressed by the state’s muscular punitiveness in keeping the working class in check.

Trump arrives infinitely better prepared than the last time, with loyalists ready with det­ai­led plans to have an immediate go at everything that makes life worth living. Even accomplishing a fraction of these aims, particularly with respect to migration and tariffs, will cause an upheaval, lea­ding to another oscillation in political fortunes.

The scale of Trump’s resurgence confirms that his 2016 victory wasn’t a fluke.

Every election now seems to be a change election. The last time there was any substantive bip­artisan legislative progress was when Bill Clinton put in place the foundations of neoliberal globalisation, followed by George W. Bush’s implementation of the surveillance state. Obamacare, a form of privatised medicine, yielded the Tea Party, and in part Trumpism. Each time there is a grassroots progressive upsurge, as with Ralph Nader in 2000 or Bernie Sanders in 2016 and 2020, the final result seems to be a massive rightward shift. The electorate has endorsed the same move this time.

Although much of the criticism of Harris’s loss will rightly focus on her unwillingness to offer any coherent economic message to alleviate the cost of living beyond bits and pieces, neither Biden nor Harris touted the progressive milestones they did achieve. It might sound surprising to praise Biden, but he was undoubtedly far to the left of Obama, and a down payment was made on clean energy, infrastructure rebuilding, industrial policy, and anti-trust regulation. Biden’s precipitous slide in popularity began when he rightly followed through on withdrawing from Afghanistan.






The original Build Back Better plan, whose care economy components were mostly removed, seems like an impossible dream in the wake of Harris’s rightward lurch. The Biden presidency can also be interpreted as a managed letdown from the peak of progressive enthusiasm, as social safety measures to soften the pandemic were abolished, but at least there was rhetorical fidelity to­­w­ards strengthening worker rights.

Immigration was rightly loosened up, to meet the enormous shortfall of workers, and the rate of growth of inflation, to which Trump’s previous tariffs and immigrat­­­ion restrictions contributed as much as pandemic-era supply chain shortages, were down considerably.

But why would Biden and Harris never run on the back of these initiatives? Why did Trumpian xenophobia and cultural paranoia, exemplified in the fear of transgendered people, so completely push Biden’s legislative efforts to the background? I don’t believe that the outcome of the election was inevitable, despite the ravages of inflation. Harris could have built on Biden’s rudimentary economic progressivism, and offered young people hope for a financially sustainable future and a way out of the dual wars of choice. But she didn’t, and it wasn’t coincidental.

There seems to be more soul-searching on the part of liberals than after 2004, and certainly 2016, when it was all too easy to blame Trump as an outlier and his voters as deplorables, and then spend years trying to disqualify him and his movement as criminal enterprises.

But what do you do when large numbers of working people of all races gravitate towards the party whose tariffs and migration crackdowns will cause enormous economic disruption? Is there even a language that exists to speak to such voters about the benefits of openness, after four decades of the neoliberal zero-sum game pitting individual against individual? Perhaps there is, but it wasn’t tried.

The healthiest outcome for the rest of the world would be for the MAGA movement to actually disengage from international linkages. This is the fatal blow the empire seems determined to inflict upon itself and it ultimately explains why progressive initiatives, large or small, cannot satisfy the rotten emptiness at the core. It was, finally, less a failure of strategy or tactics that doomed Harris than the downward trajectory of empire that now seems unstoppable.

The writer’s political books include Why Did Trump Win?

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

Dutch govt could fall over handling of Amsterdam PROTEST  violence: media report

Reuters | Dawn.com | Anadolu Agency

Published November 15, 2024 

A man carries Palestinian flags in Dam Square in front of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam on November 15. — AFP

The Dutch cabinet met in an emergency session on Friday amid reports the coalition could implode over the government’s handling of violence linked to a Europa League football match involving an Israeli team, local media reported.

Nora Achahbar, junior finance minister in the coalition led by anti-Muslim populist Geert Wilders’ PVV, had earlier resigned over remarks by ministers on Monday about clashes around the match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv, several media reported, citing sources in the ongoing cabinet session.

Achahbar’s resignation led to the crisis cabinet meeting on Friday afternoon in which other cabinet members of her centrist NSC party also threatened to quit, broadcasters NOS and RTL said, citing government sources.

Achahbar felt several cabinet members had “crossed a line with hurtful and possibly racist comments about the attacks on Israeli football fans” in Amsterdam and riots in the days after the match, Dutch paper De Volkskrant reported.

Wilders has repeatedly said, “Dutch youth of Moroccan descent were the main attackers of the Israeli fans”. But the police have given no details about the background of the suspects.

Neither Wilders nor Achahbar, who was born in Morocco and served as public prosecutor before she joined the government in July, were available to comment as the cabinet meeting was ongoing on Friday afternoon.

Party leaders have been summoned to join the cabinet meeting on Friday evening, media said. Achahbar’s office and government spokespeople could not be immediately reached by Reuters.

If the NSC party pulls out, the other three coalition members would either have to go ahead as a minority coalition or call early elections.

Achahbar’s resignation follows a turbulent week in Amsterdam, where the local police department has said Maccabi fans last week attacked a taxi and burned a Palestinian flag before being chased and beaten by gangs on scooters.

While unanimously condemning the violence, left-wing parties have called for dialogue with the Muslim community instead of “dividing the country”.

“I share the condemnation of the violence in Amsterdam and yes, there was indeed anti-Semitic violence,” left-wing opposition leader Frans Timmermans said.

“You are simply stoking the fires while this country has a need for politicians to unite people and find solutions,” Timmermans told Wilders.

According to social media videos, eyewitness accounts, and pro-Palestinian activists, the Maccabi supporters had armed themselves with sticks and rocks earlier in the day and shouted provocative anti-Arab chants.

Jazie Veldhuyzen, a senior city councillor, had earlier confirmed that Israeli hooligans instigated the violence in Amsterdam. He stressed the need for a thorough and objective examination.

He said that on Wednesday night, “Maccabi hooligans had initiated to attack houses with Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian Amsterdammers. That’s when the violence started.”

Amsterdam’s Police Chief Peter Holla had also confirmed that Maccabi supporters attacked a taxi and set a Palestinian flag on fire on Wednesday, according to the BBC.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof on Monday said the incidents showed that some of the youth in the Netherlands with a migration background did not share “Dutch core values”.

GAZA:  Genocidal violence

Editorial

Published November 16, 2024 

DAWN


A RECENTLY released UN report confirms what many around the world already know: that Israel has been using genocidal violence to wipe out the Palestinian population in Gaza. As per the findings of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, Tel Aviv “is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury” in the besieged Palestinian territory. Moreover, the report finds that Israel’s practices in Gaza “are consistent with the characteristics of genocide”. This is no empty rhetoric, as the UN body has documented several examples of Israeli savagery in Gaza ever since the events of Oct 7, 2023. For instance, the UN committee says by February, Israel had dropped over 25,000 tonnes of explosives on the tiny Strip; this is the equivalent of two nuclear bombs used against defenceless people. Israel is often hailed by its admirers for its tech savviness; it turns out that Tel Aviv is using its tech know-how with murderous precision in Palestine. The UN report highlights that Tel Aviv is using “AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight”. This means that machines are drawing up ‘kill lists’, which the Israelis are adhering to faithfully. An earlier UN investigation had also found there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

Damning as these findings are, Israel has little consideration for what the UN or the world community has to say. Israel has already declared the UN secretary general ‘persona non grata’. The Zionist state knows it has the world’s sole superpower in its corner, and come January an array of pro-Israel hawks will take the reins in the Trump administration, further emboldening the extremists in Tel Aviv. European states mouth occasional entreaties about protecting the Palestinians while solidly backing Israel; on their part, the Muslim-Arab bloc can only issue strong statements in solidarity with Palestine. Is it any surprise, then, that Israel can get away with a modern, live-streamed genocidal campaign?

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2024

With Trump, already negligible US distance with Israel to vanish

Biden admin's stance had already shifted to unwavering support for Tel Aviv after the Oct 7 attacks, despite growing criticism.

AFP | Dawn.com 

Published November 16, 2024

For more than a year, the United States has steadfastly backed Israel in its invasion of Gaza while quietly counselling restraint on occasion. With Donald Trump’s return, the little nuance present will vanish, although his hunger for deal-making makes him less predictable.

Trump, unlike every other recent president, has not even paid lip service to a fully sovereign, independent Palestinian state.

He leads a Republican Party so pro-Israel that some local offices handed out Israeli flags alongside Trump yard signs — a far cry from President Joe Biden, whose support for Israel faced fierce criticism from the left of his Democratic Party.

And while Biden’s two ambassadors to Israel were Jewish Americans who would occasionally nudge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump’s pick is evangelical Christian pastor Mike Huckabee, a former governor who sees biblical reason to champion Israel.

Other Trump nominees include Senator Marco Rubio — a hawk on Iran — as secretary of state, and Representative Elise Stefanik, who made waves by assailing universities’ handling of pro-Palestinian protests, as US ambassador to the United Nations.

“They’re, like, more pro-Israel than most Israelis,” said Asher Fredman, director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, an Israeli think tank.

He expected Trump to take an “America First” approach aimed at reducing US military resources and refocusing on countering China — which means both empowering Israel to fight enemies and encouraging its normalisation with Arab states, notably Saudi Arabia.

“There is really tremendous paradigm-shifting potential in a number of realms, such as advancing regional cooperation and putting maximum pressure on Iran,” Fredman said.
End of Biden’s approach

According to Anadolu Agency, while the Biden administration had previously balanced its approach by supporting Israel’s defence against Iran and endorsing a two-state solution, its stance shifted to unwavering support for Tel Aviv after the attacks, despite growing national and international criticism.

During the October 18, 2023 visit to Israel, Biden expressed unwavering support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, affirming the US’ solid backing.

Biden sought an additional $17.9 billion in military aid for Israel upon his return, supplementing the annual $3.5bn it already receives.

While Biden issued a memorandum in February requiring Congress to be notified if any US-funded country deliberately blocked humanitarian aid, the administration faced scrutiny for its response to humanitarian concerns in Gaza.

Blinken told Congress in May that Israel was not intentionally preventing humanitarian aid, despite reports from USAID suggesting that Israel was hindering the delivery of food assistance to Gaza.

The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration also recommended freezing funds to Israel because of humanitarian concerns, though the calls were ultimately unheeded.

Additionally, Biden’s administration vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, which heightened international criticism.

Biden has also criticised Netanyahu on occasion for the heavy toll on civilians in the relentless bombardment in Gaza and unsuccessfully sought to prevent the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

But Biden has only once exercised the ultimate US leverage — holding some of the billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — with officials insisting their quiet approach has paid off.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a mid-October letter gave Israel a month to allow more assistance into Gaza or face cutoffs of some US weapons.

They ultimately decided not to take action, despite Israel not meeting metrics on the number of aid trucks and a new UN-backed assessment warning of imminent famine in Gaza.

Blinken told reporters Wednesday that the letter succeeded in injecting a “sense of urgency” to Israel, which addressed 12 of the 15 listed areas of concern.

Allison McManus, managing director for national security and international policy at the left-leaning Centre for American Progress, said the letter had offered an opening but that Biden wanted “near unconditional support” for Israel to be his legacy.

“Biden was very risk-averse — not wanting to rock the boat too much in terms of the traditional US support for Israel,” she said.

“He was dogmatic and quite orthodox in approaching the US-Israel relationship. Trump is, certainly, neither of those things,” she said.

Despite Trump’s stance on a Palestinian state, he has also boasted of seeking historic deals.

“There is certainly a world in which, if Netanyahu is obstinate, as he has been in reaching a ceasefire, then I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually see Trump applying some pressure,” she said.

“What that would look like, I don’t know.”

Deal not easy

Aaron David Miller, a longtime State Department advisor on the Middle East, said that Trump’s previous term showed a foreign policy that was “opportunistic, transactional and ad hoc.”

He said that Huckabee could turn out to be a “performative appointment” for political reasons, as top officials in Washington often work directly with their Middle Eastern counterparts.

But Miller said that even if Trump sought a Gaza deal, he would face some of the same impediments as Biden — the risk of Hamas surviving and the lack so far of a new security architecture.

“He cannot end the war in Gaza and won’t pressure Netanyahu to do so,” said Miller, now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Elie Pieprz, director of international relations at the Israel Defence and Security Forum, said that Trump’s victory had already yielded wins for Israel, including Qatar distancing itself from mediating with Hamas and a more conciliatory tone from Iran.

As Biden had a “difficult” relationship with Israel, Trump will likely seek to ease friction, Pieprz said.

“Trump likes to see things in comparison to his opponents,” he said. Much like his domestic slogan, Pieprz said, Trump wants to “make the US-Israel relationship great again. “

Header image: Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, US, on July 26, 2024. — screengrab via Reuters