‘When New Delhi is ready for peace, it is welcome to call Islamabad’

Hamas leader Haniyeh’s assassination

In the early hours of July 31, Hamas’s Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an “airborne guided projectile” while in his guesthouse room in Iran. Haniyeh was in the country for Iranian President Masaoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony. So far, Israel has not confirmed or denied allegations of being behind the attack. A few hours earlier, Israel launched an air strike targeting Hezbollah’s top leaders, which killed commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Lebanon. This spate of assassinations threatens to wreak havoc in the Middle East.

Dawn (August 1) speculates on the consequences of these attacks and believes that “with the Haniyeh assassination, the prospects of a ceasefire appear to have been buried for the foreseeable future. The US can still prevail upon Israel to wind down its murderous campaign. But in an election year, this will be highly unlikely as both contenders compete for the blessings of the Zionist lobby in Washington.”

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran for the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (File)

Express Tribune (August 1) discusses the possibility of retaliation saying, “From Yemen to Lebanon and from Syria to Iraq, Iranian non-state actors are unlikely to sit idle, and a calculated rejoinder from Tehran cannot be ruled out.”

Pakistan’s monsoon woes

With Lahore experiencing heavy rainfall — the 44-year-old record of maximum rain in the city in one day was broken on August 1 — and incidents of death and devastation in the already-deprived northwestern area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the focus is back on infrastructure and protection measures in the country.

News International (August 2) suggests, “With the monsoon having reared its head, Pakistan also needs to invest in green energy and take measures to deal with the record-breaking rains, flooding and other climate change-induced natural disasters on a war footing.”

According to Daily Times (July 30), “PM Sharif could have dared go beyond the usual and introspect the momentum of post-flood reconstruction and enhancing risk protection. Is today’s Pakistan better equipped to fight the wrath of Mother Nature or would we still wait for others’ consciences to step in during a crisis? Simply deploying troops and expecting them to whip miracles out of thin air is misleading.”

Overcharging for power

A few months ago, the public in Pakistan was protesting the outrageously high price of power supply. Turns out, according to a NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) report, all power distributors were overcharging customers for units they did not use. Given that helplessness in the face of mounting bills even led to suicides, there is much anger among the citizens.

The Nation (August 2) that the authorities concerned must use an “iron hand” to deal with this situation: “Beyond the immediate damage, corruption of this magnitude discourages people from paying bills and taxes, eroding their trust in the system and government. If government institutions or their subsidiaries are scamming people — scams that have led to deaths — there is naturally little reason left to trust the government’s administrative machinery.”

Dawn (August 2) mentions that last summer saw a similar situation but “none of these firms were penalised”. The editorial writes, “The outcome of this useless inquiry will not be any different… The prime minister has already given the affected consumers 10 extra days to pay their bills for July and August ‘in view of their difficulties’, instead of ordering the Discoms to right the wrong done to their customers… So much for the policy of zero tolerance and commitment to reforms.”

adya.goyal@expressindia.com