Intended decentralization of energy sector was never fully realized, leading to fragmented and inefficient system
Development economics is a paternalistic enterprise where wealthier nations are seen as guides for poorer countries, undermining the agency and...
Public and community spaces are essential for a healthy, vibrant society
The internet has become part of everyone’s life all over the world, including Pakistan. While most of Pakistan has weak connectivity, our priority...
When it comes to economic policy in Pakistan, the refrain is ‘we must build our industry, we need more manufacturing!’Just because Europe...
Courts in Pakistan, our government and our academia have discovered metrics. Every day, there is talk of data being our solution. Put numbers to...
Andy Grove, founder of Intel, coined the fundamental management principle to navigate the exponential and unpredictable dynamics of the...
The novel coronavirus has exposed the weakness of our development planning. We have plush roads for cars, but the health industry remains stagnant....
This is part two of this two-part series on clearing the confusion regarding the IMF programme. Moving on with my analysis:Q5: Will this set of...
In its first six months, the Imran Khan government has been unable to resolve the question of whether to go or not to go to the IMF. All manner of...
About 17 years ago, I lamented the sorry state of our cities in a series of articles in local newspapers with the title, ‘Where are the tower...
The current payment method to civil servants is dysfunctional, induces corruption and adversely affects productivity. All perks should be abolished,...
Talk of civil service reform is in the air since Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech. I am afraid that these reforms will go the same way as in the...
Economics has been reduced to meaningless numbers in Pakistan and these numbers aren’t even telling us a coherent story. The only story they tell...
Imran Khan has worked hard and got what he wanted – a chance to build Naya Pakistan. The familiar whirlwind has started: sycophants are waiting in...
Pakistan is an IMF addict: we have had 12 to 13 IMF programmes in the last 30 years and have spent more than 22 years on a programme .So, what will...
Typically, ‘elected’ dynastic governments start to unravel by their third year thanks to a combination of incompetence and greed. It is...
Pakistan is obsessed with cars – and big lovely roads for these cars. For decades, the biggest item in the Public Sector Development...
TAXATION Presently, the federal sales tax on goods under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 is being collected by the Federal Board of Revenue under the 1973...
Cities are often a reflection of their zoning codes. Unfortunately, in Pakistan citizens never have any say in how their cities and towns are...
Khawaja Asif’s caustic remark: “If here had been a Planning Commission then, Taj Mahal would not have been built!” thankfully started a debate...
Part - IPlagiarism continues to rear its head in our universities and the response is the – ‘dump on our professors’. Perhaps it is a part of...
Ghari Baqir returned with a PhD from Harvard three decades ago, keen to use his newfound skills to contribute to policy and thought. Teaching at a...
About 60 million uneducated children will enter our labour force over the next decade. All of us should focus our attention to jobs and growth if we...
The Framework for Economic Growth that was approved by the National Economic Council in 2011-12 was never seriously pursued by the bureaucracy and...
Lord Keynes famously said that: “Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves...
Iam ashamed of our constant begging. How do you feel when you see the PM sitting in front of rulers of fiefdoms the size of Gulberg begging,...
