Saud bin Ahsen

Institutional framework gaps: Pakistan’s National Mineral Policy (NMP) 2013 aimed to forge a comprehensive institutional framework to revitalize the nation’s mineral sector, positioning it as a pivotal contributor to the GDP. Central to this institutional design was the envisaged partnership between provincial and federal entities, intended to drive mineral exploration, investment facilitation, and sustainable development […]

Legal framework gaps: In the realm of mineral exploration and development, the legal framework is a foundational pillar, dictating the operational intricacies and guiding the sector towards sustainable and responsible growth. The National Mineral Policy (NMP) 2013 set forth a roadmap that aimed to revolutionize Pakistan’s mineral sector. However, the transition from policy to practice […]

Pakistan is endowed with a wealth of minerals, from coal and copper to gold and gypsum. The mining and quarrying sector, employing over 200,000 individuals, contributes about 1.6 percent to the nation’s GDP. Given the sector’s evident potential, Pakistan introduced National Mineral Policies in both 1995 and 2013. These policies underscore the significant role of […]

The most difficult part as far as policy implementation is concerned will relate to the change envisaged in the Cultural-Cognitive domain. Policy has failed to consider this aspect of the policy and it’s going to be the factor which will hinder it the most in implementation of the policy. In the absence of public transport, […]

The second part of the op-ed series examines the rationale of the NCAP and offers a cost-benefit analysis of expected benefits vis-à-vis associated costs. The policy is primarily seeking a public good in the social policy domain by trying to resolve air quality issues in Pakistan in terms of the realization of health, economic, development, […]

Pakistan is the most urbanized country in South Asia and resultantly most hit by the urban air pollution which is damaging health and quality of life of people on the one hand and economy and environment on the other hand. In Pakistan, the entire population of more than 240 million live in areas with annual […]

Taking Latin America into consideration, general elections are scheduled to be held in Mexico in the first week of June 2024. Voters will elect a new president to serve a six-year term, all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies and all 128 members of the Senate of the Republic. The country has almost 100 […]

Bangladeshi general elections were held in the first week of January 2024 under the auspices of the Bangladesh Election Commission. Notably, all major opposition parties were opposing the General Elections. Massive rallies have led to mass arrests of opposition leaders. As expected, Sheikh Hasina secured her fifth term as Bangladeshi prime minister in an election […]

China’s inexorable rise continues. It is no more just a factory for the world but a muscular, aggressive power on the world stage, well on its way to super powerdom. America is unenviably retreating from its global leadership role as a whimsical president losing the grip on the world order his country built. At home […]

There is also an imperative to review and restructure Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), particularly the Pak-China FTA. The latter was signed in 2006 and came into effect in 2007, marking a critical juncture in the trajectory of economic development in Pakistan. Currently, it is based on the 6,786 tariff lines mutually agreed upon between the […]