Whither the state?
“We believe in dialogue but it should not be frivolous. Asking us to lay down arms is a joke”, said TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in December 2012. He further stated…
Qatar’s new emir faces tough balancing act
Having become Qatar's new emir in an unprecedented power transfer in the Gulf region, Tamim bin Hamad faces a tough political balancing act, analysts say, as his small emirate seeks…
Finance Bill 2013: Meaningful suggestions
Senate Standing Committee on Finance sent a number of meaningful, though unbinding, recommendations to the National Assembly on 21st June, 2013. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar ignored all of them while…
The cinema centenary
All praise for Karachi’s cine enthusiasts for organising public events to mark the centenary of the subcontinent’s cinema while our filmmakers are once again begging to be put on oxygen.…
Budget and economic management
Management of an economy is the most arduous assignment for the governments owing to the socio-economic complexities and the linkages of the economy with the outside world. Monetary and fiscal…
Budget 2013-14: Concluding Speech
Alongside is the text of concluding speech delivered by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Federal Minister for Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatisation, in the National Assembly on 22nd June…
Infrastructure development: Challenges and prospects
The economy of Pakistan is presently fluctuating between 3.5 to 3.7 percent, although the country remained successful in maintaining an average GDP growth of 5 percent (1972-2013). This is by…
Advice for the PM
Mr. Nawaz Sharif has earned admiration for the equanimity with which he bore his torment of arbitrary dismissal, persecution in Attock Fort and years of exile even though he lived…
The full bloom and the tear
Events of the past few days have magnified the frustration and resigned discontent that grips Pakistan. People worry the fragile and unsafe superstructure of the state is falling apart. As…
Negotiating a new IMF programme
Two weeks ago (June 11), I suggested that it was time for Pakistan to go to the IMF for balance of payments support as the country’s foreign exchange reserves had…
