Fiscal challenges before Hafeez Shaikh
The reality behind annual growth of 16-20% in revenue collection of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from 2013 to 2018 remains untold. The facts reveal that behind the "extraordinary" (claimed…
Shaikh’s predicament
PRECISELY at a time when the government needs a fully functioning finance chief — whether adviser or minister — it seems the scope of the powers being exercised by Hafeez…
In Shaikh we trust
Musharraf ka yay yaar hai; ghaddar hai, ghaddar hai (He is a crony of Musharraf; he is a traitor, he is a traitor)! As finance minister Hafeez Shaikh unveiled the…
Why the country fails
It is apparent now that Project Imran Khan/PTI is being dismantled. Some commentators wonder whether the PTI was ever a political party. Others use the past tense for the PTI.…
It’s all the same
Socialist countries have often been accused of following one-party rule, banning other parties from participating in politics. In the past, the Soviet Union and several other communist countries established the…
Khan’s strategy
The recent political manoeuvrings of Imran Khan have created an impression that he is a true Machiavellian. In his recent speech at a public gathering in Lahore, he again tried…
Another economic disas-Dar
The Sharifs of London have miscalculated badly, but the costs of the miscalculation and the disas-Dar being unleashed on the economy are not going to be borne by them. Nor…
Inside the Red Zone: Need for a new normal
Now where were we? Ah, it’s been a few months since politics in Pakistan took an interesting turn and swerved to avoid an orchestrated disaster. Thirty-two weeks after the PTI…
Pakistan’s Big Lie and Great Truth
Pakistan is in prison. A polycrisis prison. How will Pakistan escape this metastasized set of crises of economy, security, polity and society? Not the way it got into it. That…
Amateur hour – extended remix
The last time Pakistan had a new army chief was in 2016. By 2017, the twin towers of public discourse decision-making in Pakistan had had enough. They decided that one…
