Political capitalism
THE last couple of years have witnessed a series of changes to decision-making structures of Pakistan’s economy. These include the creation of the SIFC, the centralisation of economic governance, and greater…
Finding political legitimacy
I wrote about the CAR framework last month and posited that governance has become much more challenging because ‘capability’, ‘accountability’ and ‘responsiveness’ have all become compromised. These qualities have been…
Next steps for a political miracle
The people of Pakistan spoke clearly on February 8. Their favourite political party is the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Their favourite leader, even though he is in jail, is as beloved to…
Capability, stability and purpose
The February 8, 2024, general election represents an opportunity for the country’s military and civilian leaders to change course and set Pakistanis on a better path. To do this, we…
Test case of political finance
THE regulation of political finance (PF) offers one of the greatest challenges to democracies around the world. Political parties, elected legislators and governments can become hostage to powerful and extremely…
Search for a political settlement
Three years ago – on May 6, 2018 – I barely survived an assassination attempt on my life as the interior minister of the country. Although my bullet wounds have…
Towards self-reliant defence capability
It is reassuring to hear Governor State Bank proclaim, every opportunity he gets, that things are getting better. He also wasted little time in pronouncing 'economic stability' soon as the…
Political economy of the ME policy
It was agreements and protocols galore – eight to be precise – during the high-profile visit of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), the first in line to the Saudi…
Pakistan’s political economy
A Country which was clocking a growth rate a shade above 5pc per annum for most of its history is now finding that this rate has dropped to below 4pc.…
Political economy of reforms
There is a perceptible gap between the recognition of the need for reforms and their actual implementation. Hence the feeling that ‘verbal reforms’ outnumber actual reforms. Why is there this…
