Doomed civilisation
The rise and decline of the Indus Valley Civilisation has always been a mystery. Various archaeologists and anthropologists have tried to unfold this mystery through different theories. This question was…
Bus democracy
Over the past few weeks, Islamabad and Rawalpindi have started to feel the full fury of Shahbaz Sharif’s latest development binge. The capital in particular is literally crumbling under the…
Love thy neighbour
The tirades against the ‘foreign hand’ having reached a deafening crescendo, we wait for the next act to unfold. But there should be no pretence of suspense. It has been…
Fixing the internal threat
For more than six decades, the Pakistani state has witnessed several phases where its writ has been challenged by various factors within and outside the country. The latest, seemingly toughest,…
Trapped again
This time, there was no political chest-thumping when the Muttahida Qaumi Movement rejoined the Sindh provincial government as the junior partner of the Pakistan People’s Party. In fact, some senior…
Equality at the margins
Security and terrorism related challenges have occupied available public spaces disproportionately in Pakistan; these otherwise could be used to highlight the structural causes of social, political and economic inequality affecting…
Walking, ‘talking’ drilling rigs aim to modernise fracking
The backbreaking life of a roughneck, the iconic worker bees of oilfield drilling rigs, is getting a little easier. Schramm Inc, which built the drilling rig that four years ago…
Unsafe in a bank
It referred more to secure investment than material goods, but the term used to be ‘safe as houses’. That hasn’t been the case for many years now in urban Pakistan.…
Economic disasters in Pakistan
This might come as a surprise but it is worth exploring. How much has Pakistan spent on Board of Investment and how much foreign direct investment have they brought to…
Budget 2014-15: Essential tax reforms – II
CHAPTER 3 ASSESSMENT OF INCOME Part 1 - Scope of Assessment of Income 31. The income of any year shall include - (1) in the case of a resident person,…
