From reforms to status-quo
The PTI government has completed its two years in power. The party had made tall claims before and during the election campaign to reform the system and to bring change.…
Contract status
Over the last seven years, there have been three significant judgments by the apex court declaring contractors’ employees as employees of respective companies. The latest judgement in this regard, is…
Aggravating economic challenges
For a moment, a glimmer of hope animated, when the caretaker Finance Minister reportedly asked Ministry officials to open a dialogue with the IMF. However, it was firmly put down…
Macro-economic claims need a revisit
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) "First Post-Program, Monitoring Discussions" report was a source of serious concern for the Abbasi administration prompting the Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance, Revenue…
Strategic economic reform
WITH Saudi Arabia’s help, the scope for adopting strategic approaches to economic reform independent of IMF has increased. Towards clarifying these, this article makes five points. One, that the budget…
Economic reforms
We now turn to a key economic reform that has eluded policymakers for a long time. This is related to the establishment of a ‘Treasury Single Account (TSA)’ for managing…
Austerity, reform, PTI and the status quo
One way to see the economic crisis that has claimed Asad Umar as its first ministerial victim is as the product of two simultaneous deficits. There are too few taxes…
Economic geology of CPEC: Part – II
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) did not appear in a historical vacuum, but rather emerged from the womb of historical continuum. Building upon China’s historical connections with the Pakistani side…
Short-, medium-term economic challenges – I
The new government faces formidable challenges. We feel a two-way division of these challenges is most appropriate: Immediate and Short-to-Medium term. We have previously reflected on the immediate challenge of…
Economic reforms: Part-XXIX
The results of the 2017 census were an eye-opener. The population explosion triggered during the previous three censuses has continued, albeit at a slower pace. Relative to the last census,…
