Exports, drone attacks and incoherence
Of all the statistics that tell us a story about Pakistan, perhaps one of the least discussed but most important is Pakistan’s exports. Too often, we examine the export receipts…
Time for action
The tragedy that struck Pakistan on December 16 (the 43rd anniversary of Pakistan's break-up) shocked the whole nation, as well as governments and people around the world. It was the…
The SBP report: facts and fiction
The annual report of the State Bank of Pakistan for FY14, released on December 10, makes for fascinating reading. It seems to oscillate between telling the truth and defending the…
Towards an economic turnaround?
Is the economic turnaround round the corner? Well, the go-ahead given by the International Monetary Fund executive board to the release of $501.4 million to Pakistan, as part of a…
Another meaningless monetary policy
On Saturday January 24, State Bank of Pakistan announced another meaningless monetary policy. Interestingly, the crux of the policy, a 100 basis point rate cut was announced by the Finance…
Time for action
The tragedy that struck Pakistan on December 16 (the 43rd anniversary of Pakistan's break-up) shocked the whole nation, as well as governments and people around the world. It was the…
A fundamentally flawed fiscal policy
The countries in the Far East, which were way behind us in economic and social developments up to the 1960s, have by now developed to a stage where they are…
It’s time to cut the discount rate
A cut in the discount rate should be seriously considered by the SBP in its upcoming monetary policy committee meeting. Some basic facts to consider are; a less than 9%…
The IMF whitewash
On July 7 the IMF released its staff report on the economy of Pakistan, which served as a basis for the successful completion of the third quarterly review under the…
Good politics, bad economics
The federal government has received a cash grant of $1.5 billion from the government of Saudi Arabia, although we are not in the know of the motives or the conditionality…
