Budget 2013-14: Concluding Speech
Alongside is the text of concluding speech delivered by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatisation, in the National Assembly on 22nd June…
The undeserving rich
The requirement in modern-day life of a country is to see that the opportunities are provided to all and sundry as equitably as possible. That is easier said than done.…
Invigorating the civil service
The buzz word these days is governance. Some political analysts have argued that governance (or for that matter bad governance) was the main determinant of the 2013 election results. Where…
Investing in justice
When people discuss development, they often discuss economic indicators, social services like health and education, but they seldom discuss the justice system, the process in criminal courts, the condition of…
Taxing the taxed: Income Support Levy Act, 2013
In the current budget, the government has proposed to levy a wealth tax by proposing to enact a new law.1 The object of the tax is to provide financial assistance,…
Knowledge society
Some years ago I came across an article that made an interesting observation about the pre-eminence of Islamic civilisations and how it is rooted in their ability to discover new…
Needed selfless saints in the economy
Saints are supposed to be selfless. That statement has a presumption of truth in it. The reverse has to be proved. The elections and Jambooriat not jamhooriyat has won. Now…
Great expectations
Shortly, the government led by Nawaz Sharif will present the Federal Budget for 2013-14. This will be first manifestation of this government's depth of understanding of the problems Pakistan's economy…
The railways as a metaphor
A Fortnight or so ago, the New York Times ran a long front-page piece on Pakistan Railways (PR) by its Pakistan bureau chief, Declan Walsh. Declan, a good friend and…
Teachers & bureaucrats
“The education department, believe me, is much more corrupt than the police department.” This is how one teacher put it in a conversation we were recently having about problems public…
