In 2021, money seemed to fall from the sky. Pakistani startups raised a record $347 million across 82 deals, with the grocery-delivery company Airlift alone pulling in an $85 million round – at the time the largest in the country’s history. The mood was euphoric. Incubators multiplied, co-working spaces filled up, and a generation of […]
Fragile
Islamabad Accord and the Fragile Architecture of Peace
The eerie silence currently outside the Serena Hotel in Islamabad serves as a stark contrast to the kinetic fury that has defined the last seven weeks of global geopolitics. Within these high-security walls, the most consequential direct engagement between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution is unfolding. This […]
Fragile Recovery
The real warning sign at the Pakistan International Airlines is not the rise in jet fuel prices. It is the fact that the airline’s new owners are already speaking of possible closure if the present cost structure holds. Amid global supply chain uncertainty spurred by the US-Iran war, the price has surged by nearly 150 […]
Fragile Peace
The news from Balochistan once again reminds us how fragile peace can be, and how much effort it takes to protect it. On Saturday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces for a major operation in Khuzdar district. In this action, more than 14 terrorists were killed, and many hideouts were destroyed. The state […]