Rewriting the social contract
In Pakistan’s rural heartlands, a silent revolution is underway. For more than a century, the Indus Basin canal network, designed under British colonial rule, dictated the rhythm of agriculture. The…
Token feminism in development
WOMEN in Pakistan constitute 48.5 per cent of the population but face systemic disadvantages in education, healthcare and economic participation. To realise the country’s full potential, increasing women’s economic participation…
Development 2.0: the case for PPPs in Pakistan
Over the past few years, policymakers and academics have shown renewed interest in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a way of addressing fiscal limitations and speeding up infrastructure construction and the…
4th International Conference on Financing for Development Debt and Climate — II
Sadly, unlike the lack of media coverage, and very little discussion of policy circles on this – both on the government, and opposition sides, and in the academic arena –…
Development challenges
DURING the watershed events of early May, Pakistan has once again proved what it is capable of. The repercussions amount to redefining the balance of power in the region and…
A broken social contract
Power is amoral. It has no religion, either. It listens only to those it feels threatened by. So, how can a country deliver social, economic, and political empowerment to its…
Crisis and cure in development
Development planning is the most fundamental aspect of any nation’s growth and development. How a nation plans its development defines how it develops – and so, the quality and effectiveness…
US seeks to weaken global development finance efforts
The United States is seeking to weaken a global deal aimed at helping developing countries struggling with the impacts of climate change and other issues, an internal United Nations document…
Joining the social connectivity dots
People are strange. I am socially awkward. I want “me” time. I am a private person. Wish I was an extrovert. These are some comments that we hear from people…
Development in a post-aid world
If you visit the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, you will come across Kibera, one of the largest slum dwellings in the world. Housing approximately 250,000 people across an area of…
