Pakistan and the trade war
It would be fair to say that US President Donald Trump’s second term’s main highlight so far, at least on the economic and business front, has been the tariffs issue.…
Politics and economy
Perhaps a better caption could have been politicians and economics but a fair sense of judgement prevailed. The subject is one of an incredible juxtaposition. The words apparently contrast each…
Macroeconomics of empty promises
The State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) foreign exchange reserves have dropped by nearly a billion dollars in just eight weeks, from December 13 to February 7. This decline occurred despite…
A brand new world?
Economics is at the forefront, intertwined with politics, shaping international relations today. Global politics is entering a new era driven by artificial intelligence (AI), offering vast opportunities to advance economic…
Two candidates, two foreign policies
The United States of America is in a tight presidential election. And tight elections are usually hard to predict. Yet one outcome is evident. Whoever wins, the country will remain…
Geo-economics over geo-politics
The strategic shift from geo-politics to geo-economics is a welcome initiative. In a world where the relative importance of a nation is determined primarily by its economic strength, the focus…
Forestry and carbon offsets
THANKS to the use of fossil fuels, coal, crude and natural gas over the past few centuries, the world has seen a massive release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.…
Ethnic cohesion and development
Ethnic fragmentation is defined as the probability that two randomly selected people in a country will belong to two different ethnic groups (such as Baloch or Pashtun). Sovereign nation states…
Chakkar-istan: degree attestation is a new business in Pakistan
Degree attestation from the Inter Board Chairman Council (IBCC) & Higher Education Commission (HEC) is a new business in Pakistan. This attestation system consists of excessive and unjustified friction that…
Elections and elitism
As the nation gears up for national elections, the question that dominates media and political discourse is: which party will carry the day? Will it be the current favourites –…
