Census and representation on November 9, 2017Census is always a politically fraught activity in Pakistan and the latest one is proving to be no different. The issue now is whether or not delimitation of constituencies should take place before the next elections. Some days ago, it appeared that the political parties had reached consensus that some form of delimitation should take […]
The more things change on November 2, 2017It’s a depressingly familiar scenario. Pakistan’s economy once again faces the spectre of the twin deficits (fiscal as well as current account). Once more policymakers are scrambling to bid for foreign exchange inflows with the launch of bonds in international capital markets (according to some accounts, these are due to be floated in another two […]
Fiscal deficit woes on October 15, 2017About four months after the Finance Minister announced that Pakistan had achieved the highest annual GDP growth rate of the decade, at just over 5 per cent, dark clouds have begun to gather on the country’s economy. The prime cause for concern is the current account deficit which is estimated to have more than doubled […]
Census 2017 controversies on August 31, 2017Every census conducted in Pakistan since independence has been controversial but the latest one seems set to take the cake. Whether it is the urban-rural disparity (much has been said about how the definition of urban in Pakistan is flawed and leads to consistent under-estimation of people living in urbanised or urbanising areas); the seriously […]
Education in Pakistan on August 14, 2017Most of us are familiar with the usual statistics on education in Pakistan. The adult literacy rate is more or less stagnant at 58% (in fact it has dropped by two percentage points compared to two years ago). About 40% of children (22 million) aged from 5 to 16, are out of school. Only a […]
Social protection and poverty on August 5, 2017Provision of social protection by the state has long been considered a luxury. Even rich countries like Denmark, Sweden and Germany worry about things like unemployment insurance, free social services and across the board pension schemes. For middle to low income countries, the extent of social protection is government pensions, a nominal payout scheme for […]
July 5 is it really a hoot? on July 5, 2017Many of us who grew up in the late 70s and early 80s (I was 8 when the coup of July 1977 took place) often wonder if that period in Pakistan’s history scarred us for life. There are the larger impacts of course – the political activists who went to jail and suffered torture and […]
Does China have military ambitions? on June 7, 2017The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has maintained a database on international arms transfers since the 1950s. SIPRI’s latest figures, which average data from 2012 to 2016, show that Pakistan was the 9th largest arms importer in the world over the period in question. Interestingly, India was the biggest arms importer in this period. […]
Ufone teams up with Anfas to educate street children on May 31, 2017KARACHI: Continuing to act in the true spirit of Ramazan, of caring and giving, Ufone on Tuesday announced that like last year, this year too it will be supporting a noble cause. Ufone will support the inspiring cause of Syeda Anfas Ali Shah, by purchasing media space on television channels and digital media throughout Ramzan […]
Govt earns credit for improving economic management on May 28, 2017The PML-N was keen to end its tenure on a high note, and this year’s budget speech had more than the usual dose of triumphalism in it. Is this justified? A look at the numbers is informative. The headline news is of course that the GDP growth rate this year is estimated at 5.3% – […]