Indonesia's controversial decision to ban exports of unprocessed minerals is triggering unintended but predictable consequences: about 500,000 mining workers are losing their job. On January 12, Jakarta announced new regulations…
During the five years that Zardari was in the presidency, he effectively controlled the federal government through two hand-picked prime ministers whose main qualification for the office was their subservience…
Finally the work that was undertaken on an experimental basis has now been ‘owned’ by the government. Officially it has now been ‘declared’ that Pakistan’s real GDP has grown by…
Irrespective of the PML-N pledges contained in its election manifesto still displayed on its website and subsequent claims of adherence to the manifesto by Ishaq Dar after he took over…
The spectrum auction for the introduction of mobile broadband in Pakistan is in danger. As a central piece of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's budget strategy for fiscal 2013-2014 and the…
If the drain on the public exchequer was the reason for privatisation then the government should focus solely on privatising loss-making SOEs. So why then are profitable entities such as…
The regressive fiscal measures taken by the PML-N government in its first nine months in power make it abundantly clear that PM Sharif’s ‘most experienced’ team has no interest in…
Part-II Corruption is not just a cost; it is a curse that deeply affects individuals as well as the state system. It is the single most important obstacle to economic…
In all likelihood, 2013 is the only year in Pakistan's 67-year history wherein the closing date for filing tax returns was extended from (the usual September 30) up to December…
Quite frequently what was thought to be a well drafted contractual document turns out to be an ambiguous document which no one had imagined. It so happens because the same…
