The vessel had 24 crew on board, including 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi, according to Commandant Amit Uniyal, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard sent two vessels for the search-and-rescue mission from Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly known as Port Blair, Uniyal said.

The Coast Guard has rescued two people from life rafts. The search-and-rescue mission is under way for the seafarers on the vessel, the agency said.

The Ocean Winner was carrying iron ore to Singapore after departing from India’s eastern Paradip port on Thursday, according to government sources, adding that the ship sank around 240 nautical miles from the port.

The cause of the sinking was unknown. Captain Alekha Charan Sahoo, deputy conservator of the Paradip Port Authority, said he was praying for the safety of the crew on board and hoping for the best.

The clearest evidence is Afghanistan’s transit trade through Pakistan. Container traffic, which had risen to nearly 89,000 containers worth about $5 billion before the Taliban returned to power, briefly climbed to a record 102,886 containers valued at $6.7bn in FY23.

It then went into reverse. Volumes fell to 54,114 containers in FY24 and 42,959 in FY25, worth $1.36bn. In FY26, they collapsed to just 11,592 containers valued at $367 million, according to customs data cited in a recent Dawn report.

The numbers matter because they show that Pakistan’s October 2025 border restrictions did not create the decline; they accelerated a process that was already under way.

As Afghanistan shifts imports towards Iran and Central Asia, Pakistan risks losing not only transit trade but also the industrial and commercial ecosystem built around it

Kabul has been deliberately diversifying its trade routes, with Iran emerging as the most important alternative. The World Bank’s Afghanistan Economic Monitor reports that the Iranian corridor has become the backbone of Afghanistan’s import supply chain.

In FY25, Iran accounted for 31.3pc of Afghan imports, while direct imports from Iran and imports transiting through Iran together represented 48.6pc of total imports. Central Asian routes are also gaining importance.

This means Pakistan is losing more than transit fees. It is losing its traditional position as Afghanistan’s principal gateway to international markets. The reverse-transit trade has suffered an even sharper collapse. Afghan exports travelling through Pakistan to third markets fell from $454m in FY25 to only $7m in FY26, according to Customs data.

For decades, Afghan demand supported an economic ecosystem linking Karachi’s ports with Peshawar and the border markets. Manufacturers, wholesalers, transporters, clearing agents, warehouses and financial intermediaries all benefited from the movement of goods into Afghanistan. When that flow contracts, the damage travels far beyond the customs post. Industries in KP already face high energy, financing and transport costs. A shrinking Afghan market adds another burden: weaker demand precisely when businesses need greater capacity utilisation to remain competitive.

Cement, construction materials, food products, pharmaceuticals, textiles and consumer goods have traditionally found markets in Afghanistan. A sustained reduction in Afghan orders threatens manufacturers and wholesalers alike. A truck that does not cross the border means less income for a transporter. A warehouse without cargo requires fewer workers. A wholesaler with fewer Afghan customers reduces purchases from manufacturers. A factory with fewer orders cuts production.

The disruption is also affecting trade of industrial inputs, for example, imports of coal from Kabul. Cross-border supply disruptions can therefore raise production costs while export demand is weakening.

The situation is problematic to say the least. A manufacturer can respond to falling demand by reducing prices, production or margins. But if input costs are rising simultaneously, the options narrow sharply. The result is a loss of competitiveness, not only in Afghanistan but potentially in domestic and other export markets.

The consequences extend beyond industry. Agricultural markets on both sides of the border are highly sensitive to delays because fruits and vegetables are perishable. When Torkham or Chaman is closed or severely congested, exporters cannot simply store their cargo indefinitely.

Recent developments illustrate the cost. In 2025, five southern Afghan provinces that make up the country’s main grape-producing region exported 44,225 tonnes of grapes worth $13.8m; nearly 43,000 tonnes went to Pakistan, with the remainder going to Bangladesh, Iraq and India. So far in 2026, exports have fallen to just 256 tonnes, valued at about $100,000, according to a recent Associated Press report. Such losses are not confined to Afghan farmers. Pakistani transporters, commission agents, wholesalers and retailers are also affected by interruptions to cross-border commerce.

At the centre of the problem is the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), designed to turn geography into economic opportunity. Pakistan offered Afghanistan access to seaports; Afghanistan offered Pakistan a potential land bridge towards Central Asia. But security concerns, smuggling, regulatory disputes and political tensions have steadily eroded the commercial value of that arrangement.

Pakistan has legitimate concerns. Transit cargo destined for Afghanistan can be diverted into Pakistani markets, depriving the government of revenue and creating unfair competition for domestic businesses. In October 2023, Pakistan imposed a 10pc processing fee on specified categories of Afghan transit goods, including garments, footwear, machinery, blankets and textiles, as part of efforts to curb misuse of the transit system.

Afghanistan, however, has legitimate commercial concerns of its own. Every additional document, financial requirement, inspection or border delay raises the cost and uncertainty of trade. If an alternative route through Iran becomes commercially viable, traders have an incentive to use it. And once a trader establishes a new supply chain, winning him back becomes considerably harder.

Afghanistan will not escape the cost of this realignment. Longer routes can increase transport and logistics expenses, while Pakistan loses port activity, trucking, warehousing, customs-related business and market access.

There are undoubtedly consequences for the entire Pakistan economy, but for KP the consequences are immediate. Peshawar’s traders, transporters, warehouses, clearing agents and manufacturers form an interconnected commercial ecosystem built around access to Afghanistan and, beyond it, Central Asia.

The Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimates that Pakistani exporters suffered about $225m in losses over eight months of this year because of restrictions and blockades. It puts Pakistan’s annual exports to Afghanistan around $1.5bn, while exports to Central Asian markets through Afghanistan at $800m a year.

This is particularly disturbing for KP because geography has traditionally been its competitive advantage. Peshawar and the wider Khyber corridor were positioned to benefit from trade between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia. That advantage is now being weakened as Afghanistan diversifies its trade routes.

Pakistan therefore cannot treat the collapse of Afghan transit trade solely as a security or diplomatic issue. Nor can Kabul assume that replacing Pakistani routes with Iranian and Central Asian corridors carries no economic cost. Both sides need a predictable, rules-based transit regime.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, August 24th, 2026

A debate has been generated in the media about the pros and cons of administrative changes and breaking provinces into more units. Parliament has yet to discuss this. That is unsurprising. Deliberation is not this legislature’s strong suit. It has rushed through constitutional amendments in record time, once in the dead of night and without meaningful debate. Meanwhile, speculation is mounting that another constitutional amendment is being prepared to push through ‘administrative changes’.

Absent from the establishment’s consideration of these sweeping changes are lessons from Pakistan’s history. Over the decades, the country’s rulers have experimented with parliamentary, presidential, semi-presidential, quasi-parliamentary systems, direct military rule, and more recently a hybrid model, which involves informal power-sharing between the military and civilians, with the former as dominant partner. Pakistan has tried them all. Yet each switch only contributed to political instability. The only system to command legitimacy and broad support is parliamentary democracy, despite the fact that parliamentary supremacy over the executive has never been realised.

Linked to these experiments has been the status and rights of provinces in a federal system. As the provincial configuration and federating units largely coincided with the ethnic composition of people of each province, the need was always felt to make federalism a reality, not just a constitutional precept to ensure the people of all four provinces felt they were part of an inclusive and fair system.

Pakistan’s troubled history offers a cautionary lesson against altering the provincial structure.

But the federal structure and provincial rights have always been contested issues in Pakistan’s history. Contested on many counts. Smaller provinces have long resented Punjab’s political hegemony, sought greater powers and autonomy and felt the distribution of resources has been unfair. Unelected institutions have always preferred a centralised polity while military rule meant the country functioned as a virtual unitary state. Long periods of unrepresentative rule fuelled alienation among the smaller provinces by marginalising them, suppressing regional identities, concentrating power at the centre and weakening federalism.

The creation of One Unit in the 1950s, which merged all the provinces of what was then West Pakistan into a single unit, was aimed at creating ‘parity’ with the more populous eastern wing of the country to undercut its numerical majority. This politically motivated project imposed a unitary system and all but destroyed the country’s federal character. It was justified by totally false and frivolous arguments. They included claims it would end “provincial prejudices”, reduce adm­i­nistrative expenses and help develop backward areas. The move had disastrous consequences. It fanned the flames of nationalist and regionalist sentiment in the smaller provinces of West Pak­istan and strengthened centrifugal forces across the country. It contributed to the sense of discrimination among the people of East Pakistan that, along with other factors, found expression in the Bengali nationalist movement and ultimately led to the break-up of Pakistan in 1971.

The issue of provincial rights continued to be a source of tensions and contestation. The 1973 Constitution struck a delicate balance between the centre and provinces in a multiethnic state, assured provincial autonomy and enjoined reciprocal obligations between the federating units. Unfortunately, this was observed more in its breach than in its adherence. Opposition-run provincial governments were ousted in the 1970s by prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. This reinforced a political tradition that began in the early years after independence when provincial governments were summarily dismissed by the central government. This seriously undermined national unity.

These and other actions widened interprovincial disparities, deepened alienation among smaller provinces and led to the insurgency in Balochistan in the 1970s. This intensified during the 2000s but their antecedents reached back to the 1950s. The insurgency continues today as a result of monumental mishandling of the province and Baloch sentiment by successive governments. Authoritarian measures also gave a fillip to Pakhtun nationalism, even though over time this waned with the increasing representation of KP in the country’s power elite and bure­aucracy.

The troubled history of federalism and provincial tensions in Pakistan offers a cautionary lesson against altering the country’s four ethnically distinct provinces. Past attempts to do that or erode constitutionally guaranteed provincial rights only widened fault lines and created new ones. These efforts were never about better governance or a stronger administrative system. They were about control. They reflected the interests of a ruling elite seeking to entrench political dominance, with little regard for national unity and cohesion. The same logic applies to those in the current hybrid government pushing to create new provinces and fragment existing ones. This is about control, not reform.

True ethnic minorities in some provinces, such as Seraiki speakers in southern Punjab, have long wanted their own province. Some political parties have actively supported this. But the challenge is how to square this with carving out a new unit that could undermine the delicate constitutional balance, spark controversy and encourage others to demand new provinces.

The 18th Constitutional Amendment, backed by all parties in 2010, opened a new chapter in provincial empowerment. Over a dozen ministries were devolved from the federal level to the provinces. But this also raised capacity issues and whether provinces could handle the increased fiscal power and resources devolved to them. The fiscal aspect evoked the most criticism. Because with the 2009 National Finance Commission award, the substantial transfer of resources to the provinces left the federal government unable to meet its financial obligations. While this tussle over revenue needs to be resolved and provinces should mobilise their own resources, creating smaller provinces or rolling back the amendment is not the answer.

In fact, the rationale for redrawing provincial boundaries remains opaque. This lack of clarity reinforces the impression that the motive is to increase control, not to improve governance. If we want real reform, it’s not by carving out new provinces. It’s by empowering local government.

The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026

The department order, which took effect at 7am, completely restricts public movement on roads and in markets in Khadkocha and its adjoining areas.

The district administration and law enforcement agencies have intensified security measures in the area to prevent and promptly respond to any untoward incident.

Additional law enforcement personnel have been deployed to ensure compliance, establish the writ of the state, and respond to any potential incidents.

The district administration urged residents to stay indoors and cooperate with authorities. In a notification, the administration warned anyone venturing outside and violating the restrictions would do so at their own risk.

The curfew will remain in force until further notice, authorities said.

Earlier on July 22, authorities ordered a similar lockdown in Khad­kocha after three people were killed and five others injured in a gun attack on a Karachi-bound bus.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday appreciated the contribution of Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki towards strengthening the longstanding fraternal and strategic bilateral ties.

Ambassador Malki, who has served in Pakistan since 2017, called on the president for a farewell call at Aiwan-i-Sadr.

President Zardari expressed appreciation for his dedicated service and the friendship, warmth and cooperation he extended to Pakistan during his tenure. He said the ambassador had played an important role in advancing bilateral relations, particularly in the political, economic and trade spheres.

Pakistan deeply values its time-tested friendship and strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia and appreciated the Kingdom’s steadfast support for Pakistan, he said. He also expressed confidence that the strong foundation laid during Ambassador Malki’s tenure would continue to guide bilateral cooperation in the years ahead.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026

LAHORE / KARACHI: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Sunday warned the government that the party would expand its ongoing sit-ins into a nationwide movement, culminating in a shutter-down strike and a possible march on Islamabad if the petroleum levy was not withdrawn.

Addressing a press conference at the JI sit-in site in Lahore, Mr Rehman said the protests in the provincial capital had entered their eighth day and would continue until the government abolished the petroleum levy.

He announced that JI would establish protest camps across the country and call a nationwide shutter-down strike on 13th Rabiul Awwal, followed by a march towards Islamabad if the government failed to respond to its demands.

“The rulers are squeezing the blood out of the people through forced levies and taxes,” he said, adding that the government was protecting the privileges of the ruling elite while shifting the burden of its policies onto ordinary citizens.

Mr Rehman said public pressure had forced the government to reduce the price of diesel by Rs32 per litre. He said oil mafias had been making excessive profits by charging consumers for imported diesel at rates linked to the cost of locally produced diesel.

The JI chief also said the government and sugar mafia were manipulating the sugar market. He said 765,000 tonnes of sugar had been imported in collusion with vested interests without taxes, yet sugar prices continued to rise. He announced that JI would celebrate Eid Miladun Nabi on 12th Rabiul Awwal at the sit-in sites.

Series of sit-ins

According to a statement issued by the JI from Islamabad, the party announced a series of protest sit-ins across the federal capital as part of its nationwide protest campaign against the petroleum levy, rising fuel prices, inflation and costly agreements with independent power producers.

A protest sit-in was staged in the federal capital’s Ghori Town on Sunday. Another sit-in will be staged in Islamabad’s Karachi Company today (Monday), followed by protests in Sector G-7/3 on 25th, B-17 on 27th and the PWD neighbourhood on 28th.

The next demonstrations will be held on Aug 29, 30 and 31 in Bharakahu, Jhangi Syedan and Lehtrar Road, respectively.

‘PPP conniving with PML-N’

In Karachi, the JI’s sit-in near Governor House continued for the eighth consecutive day on Sunday, with party leaders insisting that the protest would not be called off unless the government withdrew the petroleum levy and provided relief to consumers.

Addressing the protesters, JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan said the party would continue its struggle until the petroleum levy was withdrawn. He maintained that the levy had placed an additional burden on ordinary citizens already struggling with inflation and high utility bills.

He also criticised the Sindh government, accusing it of “conniving” with the PML-N-led federal government instead of protecting the interests of people.

Meanwhile, the JI Balochistan announced plans to stage an indefinite sit-in outside Governor House in Quetta starting from Aug 29.

The protest aims to challenge unfulfilled government promises, high petroleum levy, and rising lawlessness.

Speaking at a press conference at the Quetta Press Club, JI Provincial Vice President Zahid Akhtar Baloch said the sit-in would continue until the party’s demands were met.

With additional input from Bakhtawar Mian in Islamabad and Muhammad Akbar Notezai in Quetta

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026

KARACHI: Family, friends, acquaintances and civil society members have been gathering on Sharea Faisal near Nursery every night for the past three weeks, blocking the key artery and vowing that they would not give up until justice is provided to slain Mir Raza Ali, whose body with a gunshot wound was found on July 29 at a desolate spot in Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

More than 26 days after the murder, the identity of his killer(s) is yet to be known, compelling civil society to take to the streets on a daily basis. The Nursery bus stop has been turned into a focal point, where a large banner inscribed with ‘Justice for Mir Raza’ is displayed at the centre.

The protesters include Raza’s family and friends, and dozens of men, women, their children and people of different age groups who have been demanding the arrest of Raza’s killers and exemplary punishment for them.

On Saturday night, people turned out in large numbers and blocked both tracks of Sharea Faisal, staging a sit-in there until the wee hours of Sunday.

During a visit to the protest site in the small hours of Sunday, protesters were seen using clapping as a collective expression of defiance and solidarity, blending it with their chants to create a wall of sound that carries far beyond the protest site.

At times, the chanting, applause and calls for justice merge with the sound of drizzle and the movement of the night air, lending the gathering an atmosphere of persistence and resolve.

A large number of participants raise their hands while chanting slogans and voicing their demands; some hold placards and banners bearing the words ‘Justice for Mir Raza’, making their presence felt, while others explain the protest’s background and history to those arriving for the first time.

During the protest, one person can be seen addressing the gathering from the stage in memory of Raza, while another wipes away tears as emotions run high.

Some protesters alternately climb onto water tankers placed by the police to block the roads and address the crowd from above, raising slogans against the police and the government.

From time to time, slogans rise from the stage: ‘Mir, hum sharminda hain, tere qatil zinda hain’ (Mir, we are ashamed, your killers are still free) and ‘Allah ka qanoon hai, khoon ka badla khoon hai’ (It is Allah’s law; blood must be avenged with blood).

In other moments, speakers seek to keep Raza’s memory alive while impressing upon the crowd that his killing was not merely the loss of an individual but, in their view, an assault on the hopes and aspirations of Karachi’s young people.

The stage reverberates with chants: ‘Zinda hai Mir, zinda hai; bhaiyon ki shakal mein zinda hai, beton ki shakal mein zinda hai; zinda hai Mir, zinda hai’ (Mir lives on, he lives on; he lives on in the face of brothers, he lives on in the face of sons; Mir lives on).

At other times, the crowd raises the slogan: ‘Mir, tere khoon se inqilab aayega, raigan na jayega, inqilab aayega’ (Mir, your blood will bring revolution; it will not go in vain; revolution will come).

‘We will not let Raza’s blood be in vain’

Dawn spoke to some of the participants who said that they would come daily to record their protest and would not give up hope until the killers were arrested.

Alleging that the authorities were showing disregard for the grieving family, the protesters said, “The powerful think people would get tired of protesting in a few more days, but we [protesters] assure them that we will stand and protest for Raza, despite it taking months or even a year. We will not let his blood be in vain. We will bring his family justice.”

On one side, dozens of men and women sit on rugs spread across the road, responding to slogans raised from the stage with enthusiasm and unwavering intensity.

On the other, groups of youngsters spread across both tracks of Sharea Faisal, chanting at the top of their voices for the authorities’ resignation over what they describe as their failure to deliver justice.

The presence of women, men and children gives the gathering the character of a broad-based public protest. Many had come with their families while others said they were taking time out of their daily routines to join the demonstration.

Among the regular protesters is a woman known as “Apa”.

She told Dawn that she did not know Raza or his family personally and had only met him once when she visited his eatery. “But when I came to know that he had been murdered in such a way, I could not tolerate it,” she said.

She said she had children of her own and could understand what the family was going through. “This is not a jungle where we are living. It is a city. Even in a jungle there are laws,” she added.

Apa said she would continue attending the protest and would be the last person to leave unless justice was provided. She said she remained hopeful that the truth would emerge and those responsible for Raza’s death would be arrested.

For Raza’s friend Hassan Surya, the protest began before the family’s demonstration.

When Raza went missing, he said, friends and family initially thought that he might have left home after becoming upset over “something personal”. They continued searching for him and when “we found out that he had been murdered in such a way, I started the protest”, he said.

He said the family was busy with the investigation and other matters at the time.

Hassan and some friends initially staged the protest at Charminar Chowrangi, Baha­durabad and later shifted it to Sharea Faisal, where it grew in size.

Some of his close friends have since stopped coming regularly, he lamented, but he has continued to attend.

Hassan said protesters had repeatedly become hopeful when the government appeared to take action, but their hopes were followed by frustration.

“They keep creating diversions and excuses,” he said. “But we will not back down.”

Two other protesters said that they had been attending the demonstration for around 15 days. They said they had joined because anyone murdered in such circumstances deserved justice.

One of them said the protest had initially attracted fewer people but was gradually turning into a public movement as more citizens joined. He added that the government had yet to take any meaningful action on their demands.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026

The proposal is said to be a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of citizens and the judgments of the Supreme Court.

Through an official letter, the CTO has suggested to the Punjab DIG traffic police to make a move to stop the issuance of duplicate CNICs, renewal of passports, vehicle transfer (sale/purchase transactions) and certain police services to the citizens/defaulters at the police Khidmat centres across the city, an uncalled for proposal that has raised eyebrows among the police circles and legal fraternity.

Citing the CTO’s recommendations as an attempt to infringe upon the constitutional rights of citizens for generating revenue or recovery of pending payments, a law firm is all set to challenge the ‘executive order of an individual officer’ in the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Propose making CNIC, passport issuance, vehicles sale/purchase conditional to clearance of e-challan dues; legal expert terms the move illegal

A spokesperson for the City Traffic Police confirmed to Dawn that CTO Shirazi had proposed a comprehensive mechanism for the recovery of pending payments on e-challans. He said the decision was made to tighten the net around e-challan defaulters by making police, CNIC and passport services conditional to the digital challan clearance.

“A formal communication in this regard has been sent to the DIG Traffic Punjab and the Punjab Information Technology Department (PITB),” said the spokesperson while quoting the CTO’s letter.

The CTO has proposed that, as in the case of e-challan default, the provision of certain services at Police Khidmat Markaz should also be linked to the clearance of outstanding digital challan dues. The spokesperson added that timely recovery of outstanding digital challans would also help expedite the disposal of cases pending before courts.

“It would increase government revenue while reducing the administrative efforts and expenditure involved in the recovery process,” he added.

A senior lawyer, Omais Younis, declared the proposal of the CTO Lahore childish and funny, saying that the law does not allow such exercises/practices as the SC has protected the rights of the citizens in many reported judgements.

“The Supreme Court has held that even a court executing a money decree cannot block a CNIC where the governing law does not authorise that mode of execution,” the lawyer said and added that an unadjudicated or disputed traffic challan provided an even weaker legal basis for such a deprivation.

“Article 10-A guarantees fair trial and due process in the determination of civil rights and obligations and criminal accusations. A digital challan begins as an allegation; it is not necessarily a final adjudication merely because it appears in a government database,” said Mr Younis.

“Withholding a CNIC for a traffic fine is not a traffic-specific inconvenience,” said the lawyer, adding that it might disable large areas of a person’s legal, economic and social life and might adversely affect family members.

“The same is the case with the issuance of the passport which is a legal document that allows the citizen for free and safe travel,” the lawyer added.

Referring to a judgement of the Supreme Court given on Feb 18, 2026, Omais said Supreme Court of Pakistan declared that even an executing court cannot block a judgment-debtor’s Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) to enforce a money decree or demand security, ruling the practice illegal and beyond the jurisdiction of civil courts.

“The court held that section 51 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides recognised modes of execution but does not authorise CNIC blockage”, he said, quoting the SC verdict.

He added the SC had also stressed that a CNIC is not a luxury or a mere statutory formality.

“We are moving the court of law against the unlawful and unconstitutional proposal of the CTO for the sake of protecting the rights vested under the laws to citizens,” said Omais.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2026