Our years of upheaval on August 19, 2018The 71 years of our existence has witnessed many upheavals — the turbulent journey which started on August 14, 1947 continues with intensified pains and pangs after the 2018 elections were alleged to be rigged by all major opposition parties. The early 10 years of our existence marred with ‘crisis to crisis’ paved way for […]
Independence Day thoughts on August 12, 2018After two days, the nation will celebrate its seventy-second Independence Day with the hope that the new government is going to bring the much-needed reforms in all spheres of governance and fix chronic maladies, so that Pakistan can be transformed into an egalitarian state. It is an undeniable fact that after seven decades of independence, […]
Legislators to reconfigure tax system on August 5, 2018Tax legislation is considered more than a device to raise revenues to meet the cost of governing a community. In democratic dispensation, it is employed as an effective tool to attain economic policy objectives. Every tax statute is a mix of fiscal and economic policies. The economic policy element of fiscal statutes ensures many things […]
From rhetoric to reality on July 29, 2018Imran Khan, cricket-hero-turned-politician and head of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), after an impressive victory in his attempt at the National Assembly, as well as recapturing power Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as securing substantial seats in Punjab, in his public address on July 26, 2018, reiterated the oft-repeated rhetoric of making Pakistan a welfare state. Since the […]
This is just the calm before the storm on July 28, 2018Although July 25 was marked with public enthusiasm and excitement, it was also marred by allegations of rigging from the losing parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) usual inefficiency and incidents of violence. Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) victory upset many, especially a section of media that started blaming the ECP for delays in announcing the results. […]
Elections and sustainable democracy on July 22, 2018The elections for another five-year term (2018-2023), only two days away, are an occasion for national jubilation and celebration — a good omen for continuance and consolidation of democratic rule in Pakistan. The uninterrupted decade of democracy has been unprecedented in our history and its continuance presents an opportunity for ensuring sustainable peoples’ rule with […]
Elections, callousness and apathy on July 15, 2018In a country of over 204 million people, about 10,000 individuals, prominent in business or profession or holding key positions in state institutions, think they know each and everything and can fix the multiple, complex problems faced by Pakistan, either single-handedly or by forming WhatsApp groups. So, we see minute-to-minute discussions on various groups on […]
From cases to conviction on July 8, 2018From disqualification for life to punishment of 10 years and fine of £8 million in a criminal case of having assets beyond means, the saga of the rise and fall of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif — three-times elected prime minister — is bound to generate heated debates, controversies and doubts. There are now two distinct camps […]
Elections, democracy and reforms on July 1, 2018Pakistan is a strange country where heads of institutions keep on expressing helplessness about non-performance of their organisations and politicians ask the voters to elect them even when they are apathetic towards their manifestos. On a daily basis, we hear about the paralysis of all state institutions — legislative, administrative and judicial. People are told […]
Drugs, dirty money and politics on June 24, 2018The successive governments in Pakistan provided tax amnesties and money laundering schemes in the name of “good economic measures” (sic) — unfortunately these were held lawful by courts, which said that they “cannot intervene in policy matters”. Resultantly, tax evaders, drug barons and persons engaged in other organised crimes, availed “legal means” to whiten assets […]