Where’s the Gaza outrage in Pakistan?
Bigger rallies have been held in London against the Israeli assault on Gaza than anything we are likely to see here. This is a mirror copy of what happened during…
Punishing communal violence
After President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to India’s parliament on behalf of the new government, many people have convinced themselves that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committed to adopting a ‘moderate’,…
Budget 2014-15: Reforming sales tax system – II
During 2003-2007, one tax official used different techniques to issue illegal refunds in several cases without any check by any agency. It was found that the accused official during his…
Budget 2014-15: Reforming sales tax system – I
Taxation should serve as a catalyst for industrial expansion and economic growth. In Pakistan the ill-directed, illogical, regressive and unfair tax regulations are causing a dampening effect on the industrial…
The faces of drone war
Up in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northern Pakistan, a giant image of an orphan girl is now laid out next to the mud houses of the locals. She…
In the name of honour
There’s a snapshot from Clifton, Karachi. In the foreground, a mound of trash rotting in the heat; a skinny, teenaged boy bent in concentration as he turns items over. He’s…
Taxation challenge
In the fiscal year 2012-13, FBR miserably failed to collect the three times downward-revised budget. The massive shortfall of Rs 444 billion forced the government to borrow more money to…
How I saw April 4 coming
September 13, 1977 remains an unforgettable date in our history. The reason: It was on this day that Lahore High Court’s Justice K M Samdani released former Prime Minister Zulfikar…
How the world sees us and why
The other day I was looking for a good visual to go with an article about media perceptions and stereotyping of Muslims. Finally, failing to find what I was looking…
Uncivil behaviour
By virtue of his ability of making tactical alliances, Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar became the most successful of all the Mughal kings. From introducing ‘Din-i-Ilahi’, a new ‘religion’ catering to the…
