Reducing inequality
As reflected from Asian Development Bank outlook 2012, Asia despite becoming a centrifugal force attracting entire world economy in its fold in recent years, its growth is likely to be…
Fata and the myth of joint responsibility
Fata has yet to see and experience governance of the area by the residents themselves. The area is administered for them by government servants sitting far away and policy matters…
Does parliament matter?
Despite frequent declarations by political leaders about their commitment to parliamentary supremacy, their actual conduct in the legislature hasn't lived up to this principle. The National Assembly has underperformed in…
The corruption problem
“Hardly a speech is delivered in South Asia without mention of the need to fight corruption in the region. Yet despite the lofty promises, corruption is on the rise”. So…
To make the state strong
The ongoing travails of Pakistan seemingly arise from multiple sources but if we distil such sources to one common factor then it should be the low capacity of the state…
Islamic history
This is a continuation of the abstracts from an excellent article by Mahnoor Khan, posted by Pak Tea House, Lahore and forwarded to me by Barrister Dr Muhammed Javed Iqbal…
Health reform in the air?
The 18th Amendment meant that the health sector has been returned to its original constitutional home in the provinces. This was a bold step undoing the centralised service delivery that,…
Forgotten rights
Enforced disappearances. Sectarian killings. Attacks on minorities. Honour killings. The list of gross human rights abuses in Pakistan is long and painful. As one incident of horror overtakes another, there…
Agents of change
Nation-building processes cannot work and development goals cannot be achieved if women are denied meaningful political participation. To ensure this, Pakistan’s parliament introduced a 17pc gender quota in 2002 in…
Institutions matter
If there is one lesson that is emerging from the recent literature on development and long-term growth, it is about the importance of institutions and the quality of these institutions.…
