Teflon lies
Afghanistan is a famous desert for empires, a burial ground which has consumed those in power who thought that extra fortification and trading most might benefit them. It remains a…
Income Tax: is there any shortcut to correction? – III
Part I and II of this series summarized the underlying tone of the fiscal framework adopted in the last 50 years in Pakistan. Except for some non-substantive and minor aberrations,…
Income Tax: is there any shortcut to correction? – III
Part I and II of this series summarized the underlying tone of the fiscal framework adopted in the last 50 years in Pakistan. Except for some non-substantive and minor aberrations,…
Ease of doing business reform
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi seems to have fully recognised the criticality of 'ease of doing business' in order to attract investments and enhance exports. Recognising the slide in country's…
Another headache for fruitwallas and sabziwallas?
On July 22, 2019 the FBR issued Circular No. 1/2-STB/2019 which was supposed to clarify the provision in the finance act regarding collection of CNIC from consumers on specific transactions.…
The Bolivian coup
It would be hard to point to a country whose president who has more democratic legitimacy than Evo Morales. Nobody can seriously dispute that he won the first round of…
Their favourite ‘whistleblower’
Ninety former national security officials under the Obama and Bush administrations – and three who served for a period under Donald Trump – have signed an “Open Letter to the…
Hurdles to Franco-German bargain on euro zone are high
Midway through their news conference in Berlin last month, French President Emmanuel Macron turned to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and laid out a quid pro quo on strengthening Europe's single…
Growth under the IMF
In his recent bestseller, 'Factfulness', the late Hans Rosling shows us how much better the world is now than it was before. Many welfare indicators, such as poverty, longevity, and…
Election diary
The third phase of the Indian parliamentary elections ended early this week. I am so wilfully removed from the process that when I learnt that the government had declared a…
