Shariah is not the issue
The Taliban are in a war and those fighting wars are realists, not armchair philosophers arguing about theory and metaphysical subtleties. Of course they will say they are for the…
Indo-Pak trade
In January, at the end of a week-long visit to India by Pakistan's Commerce Minister and negotiations with his Indian counterpart, both countries agreed to allow round-the-clock movement of goods…
The economy at the end of 2013
The PML-N government has completed six months. The IMF, on December 19, 2013, concluded the first quarterly review of the economy under the Extended Fund facility (EFF). The IMF has…
Predictions
It’s become a small industry. In foreign policy research institutes around Europe and the US the last six months have been spent producing papers, attending seminars, giving lectures and contributing…
The fourth transition
With Tassaduq Hussain Jillani’s elevation to chief justice of Pakistan, the country has completed a third transition this year. A historic political transition saw power transferred from one elected government…
Rupee and growing Indebtedness
The single most damning charge that was hurled by opposition parties against the PPP-led coalition government during the run up to the May 11 general election was not corruption nor…
Dar and data
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has blamed the caretakers and the PPPP-led coalition government for the current rise in inflation in the country during his briefing to the Cabinet and…
Privatisation of strategic assets: guidelines
The government has said time and again that it is resorting to privatisation in order to reduce the burden on the national exchequer as these state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are running…
Banana republics no longer
As the great defenders of state sovereignty continue their TV-friendly holy crusades against foreign domination, the voices that seek to expose the actual working of global structures of domination become…
The Forex challenge
Pakistan suffers from two structural deficits of the budget and the current account of the balance of payments. The budget deficit is being financed heavily by the printing of rupee…
