Our peri-urban crisis
While Pakistan's metropolitan hubs are expanding rapidly and rural areas still get targeted development support, peri-urban areas – those transitional zones between city and countryside – are becoming increasingly vital…
MPC meeting: navigating between disinflation and external fragility
Monetary policy decision is due today. Three macro variables are making a compelling argument for a big rate cut. These include sharply falling headline inflation, consistently running primary fiscal surplus,…
A notable decision
RECENTLY, I wrote about a landmark case decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan: a woman named Zahida Parveen had appealed a lower court decision which held that benefits accrued…
India’s polarising powder keg
A spectre of war now hovers over South Asia – and not only because of tanks on the Line of Control. In the wake of the April 22 terror ambush…
Is the Indus decision legal?
In the wake of the tragic Pahalgam terror attack, India has decided to unilaterally suspend the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, citing “fundamental changes” driven by demographic shifts, environmental concerns and…
Rising from the meltdown
The Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment (BEOE) has confirmed sending 172,144 Pakistani workers abroad to different countries in the first three months of this year. That speaks of a…
The climate crisis is now
A hailstorm in Islamabad and surrounding areas a few days ago delivered one of the harshest warnings for both urban and rural populations. Farmlands were devastated, and the expensive windscreens…
Bandung Declaration revisited
THE Bandung Conference that took place 70 years ago in Indonesia in 1955 was a convening of 29 Asian and African states representing more than half the world’s population. The…
Tariffs caused US Treasury market dislocations, raising longer term concerns
The searing selloff in Treasuries this week in response to tariffs caused dislocations in the world’s biggest bond market, as hedge funds unwound some debt-fuelled bets and investors raised concerns…
Crisis of accidents
Fatalities in traffic accidents in Karachi majority of them inflicted by heavy vehicles has even caught attention of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who recently directed Sindh government to take all…
