Interest rates: no more room for tightening
Interest rates in Pakistan are almost at historic highs and still the country is running negative real rates on both current and forward-looking inflation. Some believe that the interest rates…
We mustn’t cease but do more
On August, I found myself attending the annual Ideas Conclave, organised by the Jinnah Institute. One of the keynote events was a session bearing the title ‘Pakistan: Constitution, Security and…
Of debacles and more
Barely a month in office the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government appears to lurch from one embarrassment to the next. To be charitable, it is early days and the government seems…
Less religion, more religion
STATES and societies are struggling to find ways to deal with religion — or religious thought, to be precise. While most states see religion as a challenge, for the common…
The biggest lie: more democracy
At least in our climate there is no bigger fantasy than this that the cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy. In our kind of culture democracy means…
More than a turf war
By not appointing a foreign minister and keeping the foreign ministry in his direct charge, Nawaz Sharif is repeating a mistake he made during his first tenure as prime minister.…
Nationalise the IPPs
In Gordium, the capital of Phrygia (ancient Greece), legend had it that whoever could untie an oxcart tied by a complex knot would rule all Asia. Famously, in 333 BCE,…
Pakistan & Argentina: two economic scenarios
“On July 28, the Argentine authorities and IMF staff reached a staff-level agreement on the combined fifth and sixth reviews under Argentina’s 30-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement. This agreement…
At a safe distance – again
The average age of the six soldiers killed in this case came to 28. The eldest of them was only 37 and the youngest was 22. Three of them were…
The next wave
Since Covid-19 first appeared on the scene it is as if we are living in a dream; a nightmare to be more precise. Our lives have been deeply impacted and…
