Cotton: crop of yesterday?
The declining trend of cotton production in Pakistan continues. Early estimates suggest that cotton production would be around 7 million bales this year against the target of 11 million bales.…
Investing in technology sector—a primer—II
The Part I of this series of articles on investing in information and communications technology (tech) sector highlighted the significant out-performance of this sector during the last several years and…
Agriculture — the weakest link
Pakistan imported $1.3 billion worth of cotton, sugar, and wheat in the last six months – such numbers are unprecedented. These three are staple crops and farmers’ livelihood, food security,…
The ‘Pawri’ diplomacy
The “almost” blasphemous has happened. An Indian music composer Yashraj Mukhate gave music to the Pakistani “Pawri girl” video. Banned, no. Arrested, no. Social boycott, no. Condemned, no. Maybe I…
Resetting regional relations
The ‘World War III’ is on. It has already killed over half a million people. It is the battle of the century against the most invisible, slithery, and penetrative enemy…
FATF: no respite for Pakistan
Once again, our efforts towards the fulfillment of the agenda of Finical Action Task Force (FATF) have fallen short to come out of the grey list. President of FATF, in…
Déjà vu
BEEN there! Done that! Or are we breaking new ground in India-Pakistan relations? Pessimism is never constructive. But with India-Pakistan relations, especially the Kashmir dispute, both history and the current…
The rocky road to peace
SOME 10 days after Pakistan’s Islamabad Security Dialogue saw Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa offering an olive branch to India amidst toned-down rhetoric on…
Fiery phoenixes
IN Indo-Pak relations, peace is less a bullet-ridden dove than a lacerated phoenix that rises periodically out of the ashes of experience. Its latest emergence has come in the form…
Reflections on Pakistan-India peace
PEACE is a fragile plant, which needs constant nurturing. This is especially true when two neighbours with a disturbed relationship attempt mutual reconciliation of differences. When their endeavours are weak,…
