An Indonesian passenger ship carrying 243 people had been reported missing after losing contact early on Sunday during bad weather, the search and rescue agency said.

The Virgo Transport 8 ship had set sail on Saturday from the East Java city of Surabaya to the South Kalimantan city of Banjarmasin, it said.

The agency said later on Sunday the ship had sunk, without providing further details.

I Putu Sudayana, the head of the agency’s Banjarmasin office, said in a video statement that 103 people had been evacuated using different ships and some of them would be taken to an East Java port.

Rescuers launched a search, deploying a team, ships and a helicopter toward the passenger vessel’s last known position, he said.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, relies heavily on ferries as a key mode of transportation, with sea routes more affordable and readily available than air travel.

However, safety standards are not always rigorously enforced, resulting in a relatively high accident rate.

Last month, an Indo­nesian ferry caught fire at sea, killing five people and leaving anot­her 41 missing after some jumped overboard.

The home team, chasing just 130 to win, were in deep trouble when openers Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay were dismissed in the first over, bowled by Mohammad Abbas.

Joe Root, England’s record run-scorer, edged his first ball, bowled by Razaullah, through the slips for four in a nervy start but settled and scored quickly to take the sting out of the situation.

The skipper was given a huge reprieve when he chopped onto the stumps off Mohammad Ali, only for the umpire to signal a no ball, leaving the bowler distraught.

Root, with Jordan Cox at the other end, had another let-off when he edged an Abbas delivery between first and second slip, with neither fielder moving.

But he reached his half-century off 57 balls with a cut for four and Cox matched him shortly afterwards.

England reached their target in the 25th over, with Root unbeaten on 62 and Cox 59 not out.

Root’s men had appeared set for a quickfire win inside three days on Friday before debutant fast bowler Razaullah launched an audacious assault with the bat, clubbing nine sixes as he raced to 81 off 63 balls.

The 21-year-old number nine, who also took four wickets in England’s first innings, put on 121 for the ninth wicket with fellow paceman Abbas (42) as England floundered.

Razaullah’s heroics have changed the mood music but they came too little, too late for Pakistan, who have endured a miserable series, losing the first Test by an innings and 103 runs and the second by 194 runs.

The tourists sent seven players home after their crushing defeat in the second Test at Lord’s and brought in seven replacements, with Razaullah among them.

They also sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul as their tour plunged into chaos.

Pakistan made four changes to their side for the third Test and they put up a fight despite being dismissed for a paltry 133 in their first innings.

The 3-0 whitewash is a huge tonic for England, who were in turmoil just weeks ago following a series loss to New Zealand and the exits of head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

But tougher challenges lie ahead, starting with a Test series in South Africa in December and January, while a home Ashes looms next year.

In the last decade or so, global politics began moving towards highly emotive, personality-driven territory. American scholars such as Steven Hassan, in his research on authoritarian control and cult dynamics, and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, in her work on ‘strongman’ politics, have described this form of governance using terminology traditionally reserved for fringe cults.

This comparison serves as an analytical framework for understanding how certain modern political groups operate. In a recent piece for The Guardian, the American journalist Rachel Leingang highlighted the emergence of support networks, such as ‘Leaving Maga’, which assist disillusioned members in leaving the populist Maga (Make America Great Again) movement. Leingang wrote that walking away from contemporary populist movements often resembles breaking an addiction or escaping a high-control cult.

The dynamics that define such movements include total devotion to a messianic figure, deep social enclosure and an all-encompassing identity. Donald Trump’s Maga movement in the United States, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in India and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) are prominent examples, along with similar movements across the globe, such as Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza in Argentina and Bolsonarismo [political movement tied to Jair Bolsonaro] in Brazil.

At the core of any movement described as ‘cult-like’ is a charismatic leader. As the early 20th century German sociologist Max Weber observed, charismatic authority relies on followers projecting extraordinary, almost supernatural qualities on to a figurehead.

Charismatic leaders, digital echo chambers and the politics of absolute loyalty are defining features of contemporary populist movements, walking away from which often resembles breaking an addiction or escaping a high-control cult

Chilean political scientist Cristóbal R. Kaltwasser and German historian Jan-Werner Müller posit that modern populism and/or ‘political cults’ inherently rely on a central trope: a supposedly pure, virtuous populace pitted against a ‘corrupt’, entrenched establishment. Modern political cults position their top leader as the sole saviour capable of defeating this establishment.

In the American context, Trump presented himself as an outsider who alone could “drain the swamp.” In India, Modi carefully cultivated an image of an incorruptible chowkidar [watchman] and spiritual ascetic who alone could restore national pride, contrasting his humble origins as a chai-wala [tea boy] with the entrenched dynastic elite of the Congress Party. In Pakistan, Khan built PTI around a powerful cult of personality, capitalising on his status as a cricket hero and national philanthropist to present himself not merely as a politician but as a morally superior saviour, sadiq [truthful] and ameen [trustworthy], standing against a corrupt political order.

In all three cases, the movement/party became inseparable from the leader. In such cases, the party platform matters far less than absolute personal loyalty to the leader. This singular focus gives rise to a binary worldview, rooted in moral and religious language rather than pragmatic political disagreement. Political rivals are no longer viewed as fellow citizens with differing opinions but as existential threats or moral enemies. As documented by the American sociologist and cult recovery specialist Janja Lalich, former Maga members describe falling into a state of heightened fear and rage when confronted by any opposition against the leader. This is often perceived as a malicious plot by ‘deep state’ forces.

In India, Modi’s supporters and party apparatus frequently equate criticism of their leader with anti-nationalism or treason, framing Modi’s authority as synonymous with the nation itself. PTI frames its ‘struggle’ to force Khan’s release from prison as a sacred duty. Khan himself frequently framed his political career as an eternal cosmic battle between haq [truth] and baatil [falsehood].

With this framing of political participation in spiritual and existential terms, criticism of the leader becomes equivalent to moral betrayal. When Khan was ousted via a vote of no-confidence in 2022, his followers readily adopted his narrative of a foreign-backed conspiracy, rejecting official legal processes and nuanced economic explanations in favour of complete loyalty to the leader’s account. What truly cements the ‘cult’ designation of these largely right-wing populist movements is the social enclosure and intense sense of belonging they provide.

According to Canadian political theorist Laura K. Field, the community-building aspect of modern populist movements is frequently underestimated. She posits that members find purpose, validation and a pre-packaged social identity within the group. However, this total integration comes at a price: isolation from the outside world. Traditional cults achieve this through physical isolation, but as American social scientists Shoshana Zuboff and C. Thi Nguyen point out, modern digital platforms achieve the exact same result, virtually through personalised content algorithms.

Machine-learning models designed to optimise engagement inevitably prioritise moral outrage, anger and conspiracy theories. Over time, these algorithms construct ‘filter bubbles’, a concept coined by the American activist and author Eli Pariser. These bubbles confine members to an alternative reality, shielding them from dissenting facts, while feeding them a steady diet of radicalising content.

This psychological enclosure is further reinforced by what American legal scholar and cognitive scientist Dan Kahan describes as “identity-protective cognition.” When individuals tie their self-worth directly to a group’s ideology, accepting factual corrections feels like a threat to their personal survival. To guard against this discomfort, followers engage in motivated reasoning, dismissing objective evidence while clinging to comforting, convoluted narratives that protect their leader’s infallibility. This is why critics often lament that reasoning with fervent supporters of populist parties feels like speaking to a brick wall.

As the American philosopher Jason Stanley emphasises in his analysis of fascist and authoritarian propaganda, cult-like political movements methodically destroy shared public reality by replacing truth with loyalty tests. Expressing doubt or nuance leads to social penalisation by fellow members.

Populist leaders leverage social platforms to bypass traditional checks, broadcasting unfiltered directives directly to millions. This fosters decentralised online armies that aggressively police discourse, launch targeted campaigns against critics and enforce group conformity. According to American scholars Jonathan Haidt and Jon Askonas, social interactions in digital spaces are “gamified” through likes, retweets and shares, which function as instant dopamine rewards for blind loyalty and hostility toward ‘enemies’.

Describing modern populist groups as cults reflects the psychological toll they exert on their followers. When politics ceases to be a rational debate or pragmatic negotiation over governance and transforms into an algorithmically enforced system of identity, leaving it needs an exit strategy rather than a simple ballot choice.

Initiatives such as Leaving Maga demonstrate that recovering from these movements requires addressing the psychological trauma, fear and loss of community experienced by the defectors. Whether analysing Maga in the West, Modi’s dominance in India, or PTI in Pakistan, the underlying dynamic remains the same. Many troubled supporters struggle to get out.

When a political movement demands total moral devotion to a single leader and uses digital echo chambers to cut off critical thought, it ceases to function as a mainstream political entity and crosses into the realm of the cult.

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 13th, 2026

KARACHI: Speakers at a programme called for the creation of new administrative units or provinces and constitutionally empowered local governments (LGs), arguing that Pakistan’s existing provincial structure has failed to cope with rapid population growth, urban expansion and worsening governance.

The event, titled “Empowered Local Bodies System, Creation of New Administrative Units, Developed and Stable Pakistan,” was organised by the Graduate Forum Pakistan in collaboration with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) at a local hotel on Saturday.

It brought together political leaders, former Karachi mayors, business representatives and civil society figures.

Speakers stressed that greater devolution of powers and resources was essential for effective service delivery and said the creation of smaller administrative units should not be viewed as a threat to the federation or national unity.

At an event organised by MQM-P, politicians, businessmen and civil society members call for greater devolution of powers to address Karachi’s governance crisis

Federal education minister and MQM-P Chairman Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, in his address, said the demand for a province in urban Sindh predated the formation of his party and was aimed at creating administrative units rather than weakening Pakistan.

“The only indivisible entity is our homeland, Pakistan,” he said, adding that provinces could be reorganised on administrative grounds.

He described the demand for a separate administrative unit for urban Sindh as one of the country’s oldest such demands and alleged prolonged political and economic deprivation of the region.

“If an honest census is conducted in Sindh, the PPP itself will be demanding new provinces,” he said. He also proposed referendums in areas where people were demanding new provinces or administrative units.

Senior MQM-P leader and former Karachi mayor Dr Farooq Sattar said the existing four-province structure had perpetuated the political status quo and concentrated power in the hands of a few families.

He proposed dividing Sindh into several administrative regions and giving Karachi a special administrative status.

“Today we have to accept that we are not economically, politically and participatively autonomous,” he said, arguing that the 18th Amendment had strengthened provinces without ensuring meaningful devolution to the grassroots.

He called for a broader national debate, saying a referendum could determine the wishes of people in areas seeking new administrative units.

Former finance minister and senior leader of Awam Pakistan Miftah Ismail said the country essentially had several options, including continuing with the existing system, empowering LGs or creating new administrative units.

He argued that provincial governments had repeatedly failed to establish genuinely autonomous LGs.

“The local government option is very good, but under the existing system it is simply not possible,” he said. “Let Karachi run Karachi, Larkana run Larkana, and similarly let local people run Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.”

Senior politician Irfanullah Marwat said there was no disagreement that Karachi could not continue to be governed under the present arrangements. “The way the city is being run, the city cannot be run like this,” he said.

He pointed to Karachi’s expanding population and unplanned settlements, saying the city needed a governance structure capable of addressing its growing infrastructure and civic needs.

“Provinces are the need of the hour, whether you call them provinces or administrative units,” he said, adding that Karachi should be a separate administrative unit.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Rehan Hanif, sup the city needed a governance structure capable of addressing its growing infrastructure and civic needs.

“Provinces are the need of the hour, whether you call them provinces or administrative units,” he said, adding that Karachi should be a separate administrative unit.

Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Rehan Hanif, supported greater devolution, saying the fundamental issue was the transfer of powers and resources to the grassroots.

Referring to LG systems in the United States, he said municipal authorities handled areas including schools, hospitals, infrastructure and policing.

“The basic purpose of this discussion is the transfer of powers and resources to the grassroots,” he said, arguing that smaller administrative units would make governments more accountable and accessible.

Business leader Atiq Mir described Karachi’s economic and civic condition in stark terms. “Karachi’s economy has sunk,” he said, calling the metropolis “a jungle in the shape of a beautiful city.”

He assured that Karachi’s traders stood behind the demand for administrative reform. “If you fight, we will fight with you,” he said while stressing that new administrative units should be created across the country.

Former bureaucrat and lawyer Shahab Imam said Pakistan needed a system in which people could make decisions about their own areas. He alleged that local representation was being overlooked in recruitment and administrative appoi­ntments in Karachi and criticised the fragmented taxation system.

“Even in Grade 1 to 5 jobs, people from Karachi are not being recruited,” he said. “The time has come to give local people their legitimate rights constitutionally. The empowered local governments and new administrative units are the need of the hour.”

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026