Infrastructure development: Challenges and prospects
The economy of Pakistan is presently fluctuating between 3.5 to 3.7 percent, although the country remained successful in maintaining an average GDP growth of 5 percent (1972-2013). This is by…
Dar didn”t mention data manipulation
Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar referred to some statistics, specifically unemployment, released by the Economic Survey 2012-13 as ''politically expedient'' and therefore not credible. Unemployment rate of 6 percent in…
Investing in justice
When people discuss development, they often discuss economic indicators, social services like health and education, but they seldom discuss the justice system, the process in criminal courts, the condition of…
Bullish on Pakistan
ALTHOUGH the Karachi Stock Exchange has risen over 50pc over the last year, financial analysts have not rushed to declare Pakistan a `bull market`. The reasons for their caution are…
Fed-induced selloff has investors hunting for bargains
Since Ben Bernanke unleashed a bombshell on May 22 by suggesting the US Federal Reserve could before long start to pull back on its massive monetary stimulus, big stock and…
Budget 2013-14
I was not disappointed by the budget 2013-14 - not because it contained any out-of-th-box thinking or indeed any reform measures that would have changed the economy's direction in the…
Choking funds to suppress dissent
Perhaps no other country has as complex a maze of laws and rules – that give arbitrary powers to the state – as India. And no other state has abused…
Indo-China relations
For quite some time, the Chinese top leadership seems to have made it a point – as much as is possible – to visit India and Pakistan back-to-back. In 2006,…
Invisible enemy
Pakistan Information Security Association (PISA) recently held a Cyber Security Conference at Islamabad. This paper analyzes key aspects of the discourse, captures important observations and recommends action points for securing…
Welfare state wither away
The forthcoming federal budget will focus on accelerating the pace of economic growth, although in the ongoing global economic debate, emphasis has been shifted from growth to green growth, a…
