ISLAMABAD, SEPT 22: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that convicts sentenced by military courts must be granted the right to appeal, directing the government to legislate within 45 days.

The apex court released on Monday its detailed judgment on intra-court appeals concerning the trial of civilians by military courts.

Justice Aminuddin Khan authored the 68-page majority decision, with Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar adding a 47-page concurring note.

Out of the seven-member constitutional bench, five judges upheld the intra-court appeals, while Justices Jamal Mandokhail and Naeem Afghan issued dissenting notes. The ruling confirmed the legality of military trials for civilians but emphasized the constitutional necessity of appeal rights.

In its order, the court instructed the federal government and Parliament to introduce legislation within 45 days, ensuring convicted civilians have the right to independent appeals before the High Courts.

The judgment highlighted that while the Army Act already contains basic procedural safeguards, it lacks an adequate appellate mechanism for ordinary citizens. The bench clarified that a constitutional response does not require striking down the relevant Army Act provisions altogether but demands the creation of a proper appeal forum.

Key highlights of decision

Restoration of Provisions: The court set aside Justice Muneeb Akhtar’s October 23, 2023 ruling, reinstating Section 2(1)(d)(i) and (ii) and Section 59(4) of the Pakistan Army Act, 1952.

Reasoning: Justice Aminuddin Khan noted that Justice Akhtar’s reliance on Article 8(5) to nullify these clauses was misplaced, as the provision merely prohibits the suspension of fundamental rights.

Bench Composition: Justices Aminuddin, Hasan Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali, and Shahid Bilal endorsed Justice Mazhar’s additional note, while the two dissenting judges opposed the ruling.

Proceedings and attorney general’s role

During hearings, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan repeatedly sought time to obtain government instructions on the appeal issue. At the May 5 hearing, he stated that if the court issued directions, legislation could be introduced in Parliament.

In the final decision, the Attorney General assured that the government would take the Supreme Court’s directive seriously.

The judgment comes nearly 10 months after the formation of the constitutional bench. The detailed ruling spans 69 pages, of which 62 pages record the arguments presented by petitioners and respondents, with reasons and orders outlined in the remaining sections.

The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the legality of military trials for civilians but strikes a balance by mandating an appellate safeguard, a long-demanded constitutional guarantee.

Jakarta, Sept 22 (AFP/APP):Indonesia and the European Union will sign a trade agreement on Tuesday after nearly a decade of negotiations as they seek to mitigate the effects of US President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
              The agreement, to be signed on the resort island of Bali, will bring resource-rich Indonesia and the 27-member European bloc into closer economic ties.
              It is the third trade agreement the EU has signed with southeast Asian countries, after Singapore and Vietnam.
              Here are five things to know about the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA):


              - Trump prompts 'urgency' -


              Indonesia has been in talks with the EU since 2016 but negotiations for a trade deal initially saw little progress.
              Issues such as palm oil and deforestation posed stumbling blocks but US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policy "created the urgency" to expedite an agreement, said Deni Friawan, researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
              In July, President Prabowo Subianto travelled to Brussels and announced with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that the two sides had reached a "political agreement" to conclude the deal after 19 rounds of negotiations.
              Indonesian chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said uncertainties caused by the "tariff war and protectionism" between major countries pushed the two sides "to seek certainty through a stable bilateral agreement".
              The agreement was expected to "mitigate risks from the impact of the global tariff war", Airlangga told AFP in a statement.


              - Tariffs dropped -


              Around 80 percent of Indonesian exports to the EU will be tariff-free after the deal comes into force, Airlangga said in June.
              It is expected to benefit Indonesia's top exports to the the bloc including palm oil, footwear, textiles and fisheries, he added.
              Von der Leyen said in July the agreement would open new markets and "help strengthen the supply chains of critical raw materials that we need to power the clean and the digital transition".
              "We want not only a secure supply, but we want responsible supply," she said.
              "That means respect for the environment, respect for the local communities, and a clear focus on good jobs and local value creation."


              - Benefits -


              The EU is Indonesia's fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $30.1 billion last year.
              The agreement would further open up EU access to the Indonesian market of around 280 million people, Deni said.
              "With the CEPA, it means that it will be easier for them (EU) to enter" Indonesia, he said, underlining the size of the market and its growing economy.
              The deal would ensure Indonesian and EU businesses enjoyed equal legal protection, Airlangga said.


              - Green policy tensions -


              Ties had been frayed by issues including a proposed EU import ban on products linked to deforestation that has angered Indonesia, a major palm oil exporter.
              Under the EU deforestation regulation, exports of a vast range of goods -- including soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber -- are prohibited if produced on land deforested after December 2020.
              Airlangga said EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic had promised to give "special treatment" regarding the deforestation regulation for countries that have signed trade agreements with the bloc.
              EU has postponed the rule's implementation to the end of this year after a backlash.
              Activists are concerned the agreement would lead to more deforestation driven by increased demand for Indonesian palm oil.
              "The remaining natural forests in palm oil concessions will potentially be cleared in the near future (and) converted into plantations," said Syahrul Fitra of Greenpeace Indonesia.
              Brussels reportedly pushed to include provisions about deforestation in the agreement, but details have not been made public.


              - Next steps -


              After the agreement's signing, the two sides are expected to carry out steps including legal checks and translation of the official documents, Airlangga said.
              The deal will then have to be ratified by EU members, the European Parliament and Indonesia's parliament.
              The agreement is expected to be implemented by 2027, Airlangga added.

ISLAMABAD, SEPT 22 /DNA/ – The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, participated in consultations hosted by the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in New York today. Other participants included the Deputy Prime Ministers of Jordan and UAE, and Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.

The Ministers exchanged views and coordinated positions for unified approach on some of the key issues at the UN General Assembly Session.

The DPM/FM Dar underscored the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that existed between Pakistan and Islamic countries. He recalled that the people of Pakistan had great affinity for their Muslim brethren in the Middle East and would support all constructive endeavours aimed at fostering peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 22 (APP): The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), in collaboration with the local administration, has launched a large-scale anti-narcotics drive in Balochistan to eradicate poppy cultivation and dismantle drug networks across the province.

The operation is being conducted under the directives of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Field Marshal Asim Munir, and the Government of Balochistan.

The campaign aims to make Balochistan a drug-free region and to eliminate the threat posed by narcotics permanently.

As part of these coordinated efforts, extensive operations have already led to the destruction of poppy crops in several areas. Authorities have also taken action against networks involved in the production and trafficking of drugs.

Moreover, it has been decided to provide alternative livelihood opportunities to local residents to break the nexus between drug traffickers and terrorists.

This initiative seeks to discourage communities from returning to poppy cultivation by offering sustainable sources of income.

Officials emphasize that dismantling the interconnected web of drugs, crime, and terrorism requires a strong and long-term

strategy.

The fight against drugs is a national responsibility, adding that it is essential for the government, security agencies, and every individual in society to play their part.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 22 (APP):Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) is all set to host an international conference on biosciences on September 23, aiming to foster collaboration and shape the future direction of biosciences.

The event would bring together national and international experts, researchers and scholars to discuss emerging trends, challenges and innovative research in the field.

The inaugural session will be presided over by the Minister of State for Education and Training, Wajiha Qamar whereas the Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research, Rana Tanveer Hussain will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony.

This conference is expected to serve as a milestone in shaping the future direction of biosciences and promoting research collaboration.

Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan

Lahore, Sept 22: Last winter, students at the University of Karachi poured into the admin block chanting against fee hikes, late-fee penalties, crumbling buses, and a “business model” creeping into public education. Within days the administration rolled back some penalties, but not the semester fee increase. A few months later, press releases and headlines celebrated Pakistani universities’ climb in global league tables. The dissonance is hard to miss. (Dawn)

Pakistan’s participation in higher education remains low by global standards. The World Bank’s latest tertiary gross enrolment ratio (GER) for Pakistan hovers around the low teens, far below the global average near 39–40 percent, according to UNESCO’s monitoring of SDG-4. In plain terms, a small share of Pakistan’s university-age population is actually in tertiary education compared with the rest of the world. (World Bank Data, UNESCO)

For those who do enrol and graduate, the job market is unforgiving. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has repeatedly warned that roughly a third of educated youth struggle to find work—a picture echoed widely in national media. That weak demand is compounded by a sluggish industrial engine: Large-Scale Manufacturing has spent long stretches in contraction, and even official surveys depict a fragile, stop-start recovery—conditions that limit the economy’s capacity to absorb fresh graduates.

On campuses, a funding squeeze meets rising costs. Development allocations for higher education were cut sharply in the FY-2025/26 budget; experts warned of a sector “in crisis.” Student protests over tuition and fee penalties at Karachi University, and similar hikes elsewhere, are a barometer of household strain. Even where concessions came, core semester fees stayed higher than before. (Dawn, The Express Tribune, Geo)

And yet, in global rankings, Pakistan appears to be on the rise. Quaid-i-Azam University touts a placement around #315 in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and a top-401–500 slot in Times Higher Education’s 2025 table. LUMS publicized its QS positions (global ~#535; strong employer-reputation and international-faculty scores), while NUST celebrated a jump to #127 in Engineering & Technology by subject. National press amplified the story as “27 Pakistani universities” earning QS subject placements this year. (qau.edu.pk, Dawn, NUST, Top Universities)

So what gives? Are the rankings a hoax, a numbers game, manipulation, or do they actually mean something?

What Rankings Do Measure—and What They Miss

The leading systems (QS, THE, U.S. News) mix indicators such as citations, research reputation, faculty-student ratios, internationalization, and sometimes employer surveys. These can spotlight genuine strengths, especially research visibility in specific fields (hence Pakistan’s strong “citations per faculty” at some institutions). But they remain partial proxies for educational quality, learning gain, and real job outcomes. (Top Universities)

Scholars of quantification have long warned about “reactivity”, the tendency of measures to shape the behaviour they monitor. When a metric becomes a target, institutions can start optimizing for the score rather than the mission (a dynamic popularized as Goodhart’s Law and documented in higher-ed settings). Classic studies show that rankings can redirect resources toward easily countable outputs, reshape admissions, and spur tactical data reporting.

A major review in the Annual Review of Sociology argues that numbers don’t just describe reality; they produce it by channelling attention, incentives, and legitimacy. In higher education, that can mean chasing citation boosts or glossy inputs while harder-to-measure outcomes (teaching quality, advising, first-generation student support) lag. (SAGE Journals)

There’s also the non-trivial problem of gaming and data quality. The Columbia University episode—where the institution withdrew from the U.S. News ranking after acknowledging serious data issues—became a global cautionary tale. Soon after, dozens of elite U.S. law and medical schools publicly exited U.S. News over methodological concerns. If world-class institutions question the exercise, policymakers further down the income ladder should be cautious about using rank jumps as a proxy for sectoral health. (ResearchGate, LSE Research Online)

More broadly, critics now call for de-escalating the “ranking circus,” arguing that formula tweaks and opaque weightings aren’t a sound basis for funding or strategy. Beyond scholars, voices across the sector have urged a reset: make evidence for policy, industry, and society—not scoreboard position—the north star.

Pakistan’s “Rankings–Reality” Gap

In Pakistan’s context, the gap looks like this: while a handful of universities improve rank positions—often on research-centric indicators—system-level signals remain troubling. Enrolment growth is modest from a low base; household affordability is worsening; and the economy’s capacity to hire graduates is weak. If rankings encourage universities to double down on what’s measurable (citations, headcounts, promotional narratives) rather than what matters most to students (learning, mentoring, employability), the gap widens. (World Bank Data, UNESCO, Dawn, The Express Tribune)

Meanwhile, outbound student mobility keeps climbing. OECD and UIS trend notes point to a globally rising tide of internationally mobile students; Pakistan contributes to that flow as families—fearful of limited local options and seeking “name-brand” credentials—stretch finances for offshore degrees. That decision is often driven by the same rankings’ logic, now exported to household choice.

There are human costs, too. Studies link rank-obsessed environments to anxiety, status pressure, and “prestige chasing,” especially where a stark divide between “top-50” and “the rest” is ritualized. For Pakistani students facing fee spikes and uncertain returns, the psychological toll adds to the financial one.

So—Hoax, Numbers Game, or Useful Signal?

The honest answer is rankings can be a useful but very narrow signal. They can highlight islands of research excellence and global connectivity, and they help universities benchmark some activities internationally. But they are poor guides to sector health and poor proxies for student outcomes. When deployed without context, they invite gaming and misallocation—celebrating the scoreboard while classrooms, labs, counselling, and placement services remain underfunded. The academic literature—and recent high-profile withdrawals and corrections—backs this caution. (SAGE Journals, ResearchGate, LSE Research Online)

What Would Meaningful Progress Look Like?

If Pakistan wants rankings to matter for policy, industry, and society, it needs to re-anchor incentives:

• Publish graduate outcomes: a national Graduate Outcomes Survey (one- and three-years post-degree) with program-level employment, earnings bands, and further-study rates—transparent and audited. Tie a slice of public funding to verified outcomes, not reputational votes.
• Measure learning: adopt credible, low-stakes assessments of critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and writing at entry and exit to track learning gain (institutional aggregates, not individual scores).
• Reward partnerships: score and fund industry co-ops, apprenticeships, and SME problem-solving studios that convert study into experience.
• Stabilize financing: reverse stop-start budget cuts that push public universities toward blunt fee hikes; prioritize need-based aid over across-the-board subsidies.
• Track inclusion: set GER targets for women and underserved regions; publish annual progress with independent audit.

Until those basics improve, rising ranks will sit uneasily alongside empty labs, anxious families, and under-employed graduates.

Bottom line

Pakistan doesn’t need to quit rankings; it needs to downgrade their political importance and upgrade the metrics that matter. Celebrate real gains—where research is world-class and programs are genuinely delivering—but stop mistaking a better position on a global table for a healthier higher-education system. As one recent commentary put it, this is the moment to “stop the ranking circus” and rebuild higher-ed policy around evidence, equity, and employability.

The writer is the Assistant Professor at Beaconhouse National University.