Will Obama be a Carter?
President Barack Obama won the presidential elections in 2008 in unusual circumstances. So high were the expectations he had aroused that, as many predicted, some disappointment was inevitable. No president…
New measure of poverty
For long economists have sought to devise yardsticks to quantify economic progress which can be called an intangible phenomenon. At one time, measures such as the GDP growth rate, the…
Talking about change
Hold on to your hats, everybody, change is a coming. It’s the consensus in Islamabad: change is in the air and it will be very bad for Zardari & co…
A callous waste of opportunity
Our politicians and rulers are very good at distorting facts, issuing misleading statements and making false promises. However, it is extremely important that professionals and technocrats never indulge in such…
Lessons from Davis saga
The Raymond Davis saga has spiralled out of control from the perspective of the Pakistani and US governments. An analysis of the actions and reactions of the two sides since…
A reasonable budget?
Credit goes to Finance Minister for presenting a reasonable national budget 2011-2012 under the given circumstances in spite of many odds. Budget was announced in line with previous practice of…
What the crisis is about
As the Arab Spring unfolds, Pakistanis bear witness to these events with mixed emotions ranging from admiration for the brave Arabs to a strong desire for similar upheaval and change.…
Codifying price control
For a long time now, increases in the price of essential commodities have been significant enough to get people protesting. However, the issue has not received its due share of…
UK to privatise police
Private companies could take responsibility for investigating crimes, patrolling neighbourhoods and even detaining suspects under a radical privatisation plan being put forward by two of the largest police forces in…
The politics of commerce
Traders are now on the rise. Every alley, every bazaar is now organised in the shape of some association or the other. These traders have ‘shutter power’. If a 2000-worker…
