Middle class in crisis
A BUSINESS publication recently reported that in the first five months of the current fiscal year, salaried employees contributed Rs200 billion as income tax. This is Rs72bn (or 56 per…
A city struggling to survive
Lahore has long been renowned for its rich cultural heritage and architectural wonders. Home to over 14 million people, Lahore has always been celebrated as Pakistan’s historical, culinary, and cultural…
The PTI in Islamabad
ON Sunday, the PTI was able to hold a jalsa in Islamabad. More than a year after its troubles began on May 9, 2023, and the party contested an election…
Moral visions
IN normal circumstances, a party leading the coalition at the centre and possessing a majority in the largest province of the country would not invite immediate question marks over its future. Yet…
It’s all about the bench
PAKISTAN runs through constitutional crises with such frequency that they often seem to blur into one. But they all have one thing in common: a shared foundation upon which every…
Trust the state?
SHOULD citizens trust the Pakistani state with relief efforts and donations in the aftermath of these devastating floods? This is a common question, and one that was asked after the 2005…
Confronting the crisis: corruption, mismanagement, and the path forward
Corruption stems from the absence or inadequacy of constitutional rule and leads to a breakdown in governance, which is essential for economic survival, revival, and growth. Corruption erodes the very…
Moving beyond the IMF
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif seems to have a dogged determination to get rid of external loans and the programmes of the International Monetary Fund. The prime minister doesn’t want the…
Polarization and threat to society
Long hauls often necessitate one to walk around inside the aircraft. I often stand peering through the tiny window on the emergency door, looking down at the passing ‘Lilliputian’ landscape…
The other time bomb
Pakistan is a nation focused on the crisis du jour. Crises like ‘climate change, environment and population’ are only mentioned occasionally in the newspapers or soft news morning shows, because…
