A futile debate
According to recent media reports, opinions in the Planning Commission (PC) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are poles apart over how to sort out the current fiscal and…
‘A harmful trend in banking sector’
Apropos editorial 'A harmful trend in banking sector', I find it necessary to highlight some of the important and relevant missing links that need more attention and clarity. It seems…
Power tariffs: role of competition and transparency – II
Solar PV generation tariff: We should have an appetite for solar PV of around 100 MW at the prevailing PV prices, which compares with a corresponding figure of 1000 MW…
It is 11 o`clock
Arithmetic obviously matters, for democracy is a game of numbers. But there is a smarter way for a minority government to ensure stability: good governance. Dr Manmohan Singh has the…
Power tariffs: Role of competition and transparency – I
This appears to be an electricity generation tariff setting season, for at least three major tariff proposals are being reviewed by Nepra, apart from smaller applications. It may be useful…
Foreign investment
Four features of Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s budget stand out. First, thanks to its obsession with reducing the fiscal deficit, the budget fails to raise social-sector expenditure – just when…
The parting kick?
In an editorial about the "long march" on Islamabad, and the approaching (really?) general elections, The Economist said the "transition would be historic: never in Pakistan's violent and unstable history…
Reko Diq: technical knockout?
The honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan has finally declared the award of Reko Diq copper project's lease to a foreign joint venture Tethyan as illegal. This almost seals the fate…
18th Amendment – fallacious argument
Pakistan has a democratic government? There is no need to talk about this anymore. That devolution has taken place as a result of the 18th Amendment to the constitution. Please…
Pakistan outlook 2013 – I
Internal factors are surely influenced by combination of political and domestic challenges that have led to a low GDP growth now hovering around 3 percent, with bank lending to private sector…
