The curious case of madrassa regulation
Between 2016 and 2022, I had the opportunity to make frequent visits to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia underwent tectonic changes in that period, and I consider myself fortunate to…
How the ADR tax distorts the financial sector
The tax on Advance-to-Deposit Ratio (ADR) was introduced through the Finance Acts of 2021 and 2022 approved by Pakistan’s National Assembly and these provisions are being enforced by the Federal…
Foreign policy adrift
CHARACTERISED by drift, Pakistan’s foreign policy appears to be rudderless. It has neither clarity nor coherence to meet complex regional and international challenges or respond to fast-moving global developments. Lacking…
Nadra’s algebra
I AM puzzled by the role/non-role assigned to Nadra in times of Covid-19. At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the National Command Operation Centre was set up…
A nation adrift
Budget 2024-25 plans an increase of Rs5,563 billion or 45.4 per cent in the total revenues, representing the highest-ever increase in the overall burden of taxes and levies on the…
Invest in ADR
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a valuable legal framework for settling disputes out of court and is crucial for resolving trade disputes and increasing foreign investment. This system of dispute…
There’s need for effective, harmonised ADR mechanism
The taxation of income and revenue is a complex subject with voluminous laws promulgated to attend to its regulation and implementation. It therefore comes as no surprise that tax matters…
Encouraging ADR
The delays and legal complexities as well as the exhausting costs that are part of formal litigation were lampooned in the fictional case of Jarndyce v Jarndyce in Charles Dickens’…
The madressah riddle
THE state has yet to fully realise the sociocultural and political-economic inferences of religious education institutions or madressahs. Despite having long attempted to pursue the reform of this sector, successive…
Nadra and vaccination
THIS refers to the letters ‘Vaccination and senior citizens’ (March 19). I would like to share my experience with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in this regard. I…
