The Reko Diq saga
The Supreme Court recently declared void and illegal a mining deal for the Reko Diq copper project signed 20 years ago between the Balochistan government and international mining companies. The…
At electronics fair: Post-smartphones and Samsung TV
Seasoned visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show, America's largest tech trade fair, know that the underlying theme of the annual extravaganza in Las Vegas is the unveiling of shiny new…
ECP: a case of acquired helplessness
For any system to survive, it must fulfil at least two minimum requirements. Meet the needs of its customers and have the capacity to improve itself. The first requirement relates…
Cruelty and injustice in the desert
Sri Lankans aren’t as prone to street protests as their other South Asian cousins. But when Rizana Nafeek, a young Sri Lankan Muslim girl, was beheaded in Saudi Arabia a…
Save the system
We must save the system. So agree Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazalur Rehman, Asif Zardari and Munawar Hassan, the Skipper, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat and the Khans of Charsadda. The…
Discouraging FDI
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is vital for the health of any economy. For Pakistan's developing economy, considered by foreign investors as a high risk one, FDI is critical due to…
PSEs: a reform agenda
Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways are Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) just like our national flag carrier - the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Apparently, the ownership structure of PIA and these…
Beyond reform?
Since the start of World Bank funded Tax Administration Reforms Programme (TARP), FBR has been making tall claims about its automation efforts. All the chairmen of FBR, who headed the…
Circular debt, looming defaults
The fiscal crunch is taking a heavy toll on the corporate sector. The private sector energy companies are touching their borrowing limits, the public sector is defaulting in its payment…
Cost audit
Cost audit is the name of cost and benefit analysis or more appropriately cost performance review of the companies engaged in manufacturing, processing and mining. The cost auditor helps those…
