Tax expenditure as subsidy to elites: myth or reality?
In the last ten or so years, economic issues and tax collection by FBR has been brought increasingly under focus. Matters that were previously discussed in economic and policy circles…
Fixing politics by non-political means
Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a September 2006 coup and subsequently convicted of corruption, is back in the country after years in exile. His party…
The way out of elite capture
Pakistan possesses immense potential, particularly in the realms of solar, wind, and hydropower – with the capacity to generate an impressive 2900 GW of solar power, 340 GW of wind…
The political is all personal
The political economy of Pakistan is shaped by a complex interplay of formal rules and informal deals among elites. It has become important to explore the role of political connections,…
Theoretical dilemma: elite capture, inflation
With the recent increase in food inflation and taxes it is essential that we reexamine the discussions regarding inflation and economic policies. While external factors like the Covid-19 pandemic and…
Unending political conflict
Imran Khan has claimed that unknown assassins were positioned at the Judicial Complex Islamabad on March 18, 2023 when he had to appear (finally) in court in the Toshakhana case…
Political entanglements
When the coalition government replaced the PTI-led government last year to clear what it called the mess created by the gross incompetence of Imran Khan and sheer misgovernance by his…
Cults, the elite and national politics
We are seeing a phase in our history where people continue to seek a messiah who can rescue them from their present set of woes. These woes include the hyperinflation…
Great hamam and the ‘naked’ elite
A journalist’s job is to ask questions, not give answers, said the late great foreign correspondent Robert Fisk. “Even when I’m giving lectures and issuing statements, I make sure to…
The cost of political uncertainty
The failed attempt on the life of former prime minister Imran Khan has raised temperatures throughout the country with obvious repercussions on the state of the union (federation versus at…
