IMF programme & reform priorities
The long-awaited US$ 7 billion 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF), finally approved by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on September 27, 2024, marks Pakistan’s 25th programme…
A malignant settlement
LAST week, on these pages, Khurram Husain published an insightful and timely piece on Nawaz Sharif’s return and its implications for the management of Pakistan’s economy. Dubbing state-financed, consumption-dependent growth as the…
Apocalypse now
MAKE no mistake, we are currently in the midst of the greatest ‘natural’ disaster we have ever experienced. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 900 people are…
Where is our middle class?
The middle class has almost been wiped out in countries like Pakistan owing to multiple reasons ranging from lack of job opportunities in inflation-ridden economies to ever-increasing price hikes and…
A win-win situation
I wonder how many people remember the invasion of locust hordes in Karachi in the sixties. I witnessed many of their invasions. It was mostly in school that we would…
Govt as the biggest power defaulter
The media is replete with news of the Power Sector – mostly negative. Most recently, it is the exorbitant bills being received by the people and the ensuing protests. Analysts…
Economic pragmatism vs ideological rigidity
Compare last week’s newspaper headlines with those from the 1990s and it would seem that little has changed in Pakistan’s economic circumstances. Currently, as in the 1990s, the country is…
Pakistan’s journey since Independence
Pakistan celebrated its 76th independence day amidst nationwide fanfare, coinciding with a change of government in Islamabad and a discernible vulnerability surrounding the country’s economy, fiscal sustainability and social disparity. This…
Era of global boiling
The UN secretary-general recently spoke on the tragedies of climate change at the UN headquarters, warning that the Earth is now past the age of global warming and that we…
‘Charter of economy’: need of the hour?
There is a growing urge from the ruling party to bring a ‘charter of economy’ – Dar in particular is pushing for it. This might not be a good idea.…
