IMF package on April 19, 2019There are reports that an agreement with the IMF to support Pakistan with a ‘bailout package’ in the range of $6 to $8 billion is imminent. As is normal in such assistance, strict conditions are imposed on the borrower. These call for enhanced fiscal discipline requiring the government to increase revenue and cut back on […]
Corporate governance at PSCs on March 7, 2019There is much talk of governance these days. Even the prime minister mentioned recently in an interview with the foreign media that governance, or rather the lack thereof, is the reason that many countries fail to progress. His use of the word in this context is a synonym for competence and honesty in the management […]
More of the same on February 12, 2019It’s not working. Six months have gone by and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has not even begun to scratch the derma. True, they inherited a dismal situation. But by this time we should have seen some outline of a plan. Instead what we have seen is politics as usual dominated by a reciprocal and […]
From oral tradition to the Book on February 5, 2019Two years into his Khilafat, Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam, was approached by a worried Omar Ibn Al-Khattab. Omar, who was destined to be the second Caliph, had a serious concern. Wars, known as the Huroob Ar Ridda, had broken out between the tribes of Arabia after the death of the Prophet. They […]
Why the gas crisis? on December 19, 2018The country is in the grip of a gas crisis. A shortage of natural gas has meant that millions of people do not have gas to cook, or hot water to bathe in. There are mile long queues at CNG stations. Half of Karachi’s buses, which run on CNG, are off the roads creating chaos […]