One last loan
Pakistan’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) always creates panic among people as they find their going getting tough during an IMF arrangement. An IMF staff mission is in…
For universal healthcare
PROVIDING as many medical services, as equitably as possible and for the greatest number, defines universal healthcare (UHC). The idea evolved in Germany and the UK that navigated social movements…
Food in the time of climate change
Worldwide, food production is responsible for almost 24 percent (IPCC assessment report 2014) of the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the industrial and transport sector. The world’s population will suffer…
Performance check
Begin with the economy, a perpetual and deep pain: so the State Bank raises the interest rate by one percent. This made for a two-and-a-half percent rise in the interest…
Diplomacy without Merkel: when Europe’s broker bows out
For 13 years Angela Merkel has been a cool head at summits and a powerful broker in troubled Europe, but analysts say the countdown until her announced departure could leave…
Yemen still invisible as Khashoggi murder comes to light
The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has triggered a diplomatic and public relations crisis for Saudi Arabia, but little may change for the victims of the Yemen war. On…
SBP projections for 2018-19
The SBP Annual Report on the State of the Economy in 2017-18 was released recently. This is a balanced and well-written review of the developments in 2017-18. The positive trend…
The PM’s press conference
The visiting IMF mission has concluded its assessment of the economy and issued a statement before its departure. The statement has three messages: “(i) Pakistan is facing significant economic challenges,…
The wrong bus to Kashmir
Every year, when the Kashmir issue is raised at the UN General Assembly session, we start hoping that the time to resolve the dispute is fast approaching, even though the…
The PTI’s encounter with reality
Francis Fukuyama, the Asian-American philosopher known for formulating the ‘End of History’ thesis, was recently in the headlines for proposing a different prescription for the ills of contemporary society. While…
