The Financial News
Pakistan's crypto gamble
P akistan has reached a pivotal moment in its economic evolution, one where ambition and prudence must advance in lockstep. The government’s recent establishment of the Pakistan Crypto Council marks a bold step towards modernising the country’s financial architecture. However,...
Published on: March 30, 2025
Change of leadership in knowledge production
In recent times, particularly since Donald Trump assumed the presidency for a second term, the United States has witnessed a troubling shift in its higher education policies that poses a direct threat to the global dominance of American universities, long considered the gold standard of academic...
Published on: March 30, 2025
Federal budget: some suggestions
B road priorities of the federal government, to be outlined in the in the forthcoming budget, should include revenue mobilisation, debt management, inflation control and relief measures and investment and industrial growth as well as energy and social sector reforms.This will not be easy....
Published on: March 30, 2025
Starting a business: easy said
W hat does starting a “business” mean to a lay man? What kind of business can a person, who has always banked on a salary, venture into? Is thinking of starting one’s first business asking for trouble? Does it require a large capital investment?
All these and other...
Published on: March 30, 2025
The plastic waste emergency
P akistan, like many other nations, is grappling with a mounting crisis - plastic waste. As we observe the International Day of Zero Waste on March 30, it is imperative to recognise that plastic pollution is not merely an environmental issue; it is an economic, social and political...
Published on: March 30, 2025
Pesticide concerns
M aneera Bibi lives in Tarapur village of Sialkot district. She owns 10 acres of agricultural land. She says, “My family and I have been working on our farm for ten years. We grow all kinds of vegetables and seasonal crops. The land is fertile and usually yields good results, but...
Published on: March 30, 2025
For a healthier future
I magine a typical day in Pakistan—families preparing meals, school canteens serving snacks and street vendors offering quick bites on the go. There are industrially produced trans-fats in many of these foods including margarine, biscuits, bakery products and fried snacks. While they...
Published on: March 30, 2025
De-colonising history
T here is a common perception, conditioned to some extent by the vicissitudes of colonial modernity, that Sufis are pacifists, accommodating and averse to violence. Sufism has often been described as an apolitical and tolerant version of Islam that seeks purification of the soul for...
Published on: March 30, 2025
Nature as critical ally
A cross Pakistan’s mega cities, in one way or another, water supply and drainage have emerged as critical issues although its manifestations vary. In Islamabad, critical water scarcity has surfaced, with a 47 percent shortage reported last month which month?. Lahore has a history of...
Published on: March 23, 2025
Is somebody good, always an 'idiot'?
T he main themes of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot—goodness, sincerity, the conflict between innocence and corruption and the moral challenges faced by a pure individual in a flawed society—are profoundly relevant to contemporary social issues in many parts of the world,...
Published on: March 23, 2025
IMF's concern for reform
P akistan’s relations with the International Monetary Fund have been characterised by both cooperation and tension. IMF’s involvement in Pakistan’s economy has often been critical, particularly when it comes to structural reforms. The IMF not only provides financial...
Published on: March 23, 2025
Addressing Punjab's water supply challenge
W ater is a fundamental necessity for life. Pakistan, particularly the Punjab, is facing a severe water crisis. The province is experiencing increasing water scarcity, depleting groundwater levels and increasing urban flooding due to inadequate drainage systems. The situation has been...
Published on: March 23, 2025
Up in arms against more canals
T he coastal areas of Sindh have faced a multitude of issues over the recent decades. These include the extinction of some fish species, the allegedly indifferent attitude of successive governments towards the coastal population, the devastation of freshwater lakes and the shrinking of...
Published on: March 23, 2025
Employment, exports and challenges
T he information technology and IT-enabled services industry has the potential to transform Pakistan’s economy. For decades, traditional industries have been the main providers of employment. However, the digital revolution is shifting the paradigm. An estimated 20,000 IT graduates...
Published on: March 23, 2025
A call for transparency and accountability
P ublic health policies should be designed to protect the well-being of citizens, not to serve the interests of powerful corporate entities. Yet, we are witnessing an alarming trend in Pakistan where the food and beverage industry is increasingly attempting to influence public health...
Published on: March 23, 2025
Women in focus
M arch 2025 is being observed as Women’s History Month. Women across the globe are gearing up to march for socio-economic and political rights. Women have been continuously fighting different wars in different capacities in different regions of the world. In Ukraine, hundreds of...
Published on: March 23, 2025
The development scarcity
T he age of globalisation has witnessed considerable economic development, but some of it has come at the expense of national identities. The unrelenting onslaught of Western-style development has prioritised a transnational economic complex over thriving national societies. This phenomenon...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Hybrid and authoritarian regimes
G iven the state of its democracy in 2024, Pakistan’s ranking dropped six places. It was listed among the “10 worst performers” in the Democracy Index, recently published by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report evaluates global democratic trends across 165...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Tobacco control through deterrent taxes
I n a recent flurry of newspaper articles, lobbyists for the tobacco industry have urged the government to review its policy of imposing heavy taxes on nicotine pouches and smokeless tobacco products to counter a surge in illicit trade.The argument, repeated for many years before every...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Alternative dispute resolution
D isputes are a natural part of life. For many people, disputes are scary. They try to avoid those at all costs. Disputes multiply due to injustice, unfair access to resources, changing relationships, the pursuit of wealth through unfair means, lack of education, unemployment, poverty and...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Displaced communities
A s pollution and declining water levels choke south Punjab’s rivers, the fisher folk who once thrived along these waters are being forced to migrate. With fish populations collapsing due to untreated industrial waste and environmental degradation, their centuries-old way of life is...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Combating malnutrition
B alochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, covering 44 per cent of the country’s land area, remains the poorest and the most underdeveloped. Despite abundant natural resources, the province faces alarming poverty, with 71 per cent of its population below the poverty line. In...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Mukhtiar Mai's fight
H aving formally studied feminism and read about the history of women’s rights movements around the world can sometimes give one the idea that they are fully equipped to fight patriarchal norms. Feminists like me, who have studied in good schools and had supportive parents may feel...
Published on: March 16, 2025
A growing concern
E ducated youth are the backbone of any country’s development and growth. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s education sector presents a bleak scenario. According to UNICEF, Pakistan currently has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children , with an estimated 22.8...
Published on: March 16, 2025
Trade war fallout
T uesday, March 4, was a day of profound turbulence for the global economy due to the escalating trade conflict between the US on one hand and China, Canada and Mexico on the other. The intensification of the global trade war reverberated across financial corridors, triggering significant...
Published on: March 9, 2025
Widening of the gulf
T he vision of Winston Churchill’s warm relationship with the United States seems to be fading as the geopolitical landscape continues to shift. In the 1940s, the United Kingdom and much of Europe accepted American leadership, particularly in defence and foreign policy. The...
Published on: March 9, 2025
Room for optimism
F ederal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently claimed that Pakistan was well placed for the International Monetary Fund programme. The first review of its $7 billion 37-month bailout package is currently under way . The minister highlighted macroeconomic stability as the key...
Published on: March 9, 2025
Welcome Saudi investments
S audi Arabia has made a significant economic commitment to Pakistan by investing $540 million in the Reko Diq copper and gold mining project. This investment marks a major boost for Balochistan’s economy, providing much-needed capital and expertise to develop one of the world’s...
Published on: March 9, 2025
Men, women and Aurat Marches
“T hese women want to normalise incest in our society,” one of the four men casually remarked curling his handlebar moustache. They all stared derisively at the procession of Aurat March ’24 near National Press Club in Islamabad. They stood, with their arms folded, some 20...
Published on: March 9, 2025
"Home is where longing ends"
Feryal Ali-Gauhar is a culture heritage manager, writer, filmmaker, actor and teacher, working across areas ranging from history and theory of film and the theory and practice of political economy. Her work has been described as visual, poetic and lyrical – a far cry from the themes she...
Published on: March 9, 2025
A celebration of unity
S indh has a long history of promoting peace, unity and interfaith harmony, earning it the reputation as the land of Sufi mystics who have championed humanity through their lives. For these mystics, humanity transcended formal rituals and rites. From Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai to Sachal...
Published on: March 9, 2025
Diversifying exports
P akistan’s export sector is at a crucial crossroads. For years, its reliance on textiles has shaped the country’s external trade profile, but the global landscape is shifting and Pakistan must adapt or risk stagnation. With textiles still accounting for a significant portion of...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Resistance and leadership
Resistance refers to the act of opposing, defying or withstanding certain forces, systems or practices, often in the context of social, political or cultural change. It involves collective or individual efforts to challenge or subvert established power structures, norms or authorities that are...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Attracting investment in power sector
T he power sector of the national economy is currently plagued with several challenges, ranging from chronic mismanagement and financial instability to policy uncertainty and technical inefficiencies. There is an urgent need for a robust modern energy infrastructure. However, adequate...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Connection and isolation
T echnology has transformed our world, accelerating innovation, improving access to information and connecting people across vast distances. Amid these advancements, we often overlook its impact on human values and social dynamics. While digital progress has fostered global interactions and...
Published on: March 2, 2025
The unfinished revolution
W omen’s participation in shaping political discourse has remained minimal. Globally, there is an increasing focus on creating gender-balanced societies to address women’s status issues. This trend is evident in Pakistan as well. While the 2008 parliament had the highest...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Zero tolerance
I ntroducing new policies may appear straightforward on paper, yet their true value lies in effective and timely implementation. Pakistan’s experience serves as a reminder: the Higher Education Commission introduced a comprehensive ban on all tobacco products in universities in 2015....
Published on: March 2, 2025
The protein plate
Whether it is Hollywood actor Marissa Tomei stating, “I find that protein wakes up my brain and gets me ready for the rest of my day,” or Friedrich Engels’s philosophical take on life as “a mode of action of proteins,” the value of protein in our health and mental...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Empowering medium
R adio is still the most readily available medium that can disseminate information to reach the widest and most diverse audiences in the shortest amount of time. According to UNESCO, about 44,000 radio stations broadcast to approximately five billion people, representing 70 per cent of the...
Published on: March 2, 2025
Promoting Pakistan-Bangladesh trade
P akistan and Bangladesh, two key economies of South Asia, share a long and complex history. Political differences have often overshadowed economic potential. However, recent developments indicate a growing interest in strengthening bilateral trade ties. The rekindling of economic relations...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Signs of a Euro-US split
After clashing with Canada, Mexico, Middle East and Greenland, the Trump-led American administration showed little regard for Europe when JD Vance publicly criticised the political fabric of the European Union at the Munich Security Conference. The 2025 speech by JD Vance, delivered on February 14...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Journey towards a prosperous Pakistan
P rime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif’s remarks on Pakistan’s economic direction and bilateral relations with Turkiye highlight a commitment to resilience and strategic partnerships. His vision of expanding trade with Turkiye to $5 billion aligns with Pakistan’s broader...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Strategic decarbonisation
J apan’s journey towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has emerged as a model of careful planning, strategic investments and innovation-driven policies. Despite the challenges posed by global energy dynamics and geopolitical uncertainties, Japan has remained steadfast in its...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Pakistan's carbon market revolution
P akistan stands at a defining moment in its climate and economic trajectory. As the world shifts towards carbon markets as a mechanism for financing low-carbon development, Pakistan cannot afford to remain a passive observer. The global carbon trade is not just an environmental obligation...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Equitable water sharing
S indh’s annual water requirement stands at 48.8 million acre-feet . Of this amount, nearly 43 MAF is needed exclusively for agriculture to sustain fertile lands in Larkana, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Thatta. The province faces a persistent water deficit of 40 to 45 per cent, a shortfall...
Published on: February 23, 2025
The female gaze
“T he minute you’re vulnerable… when you’re not trying to sit on a high horse, there’s an immediate connection of the hearts that transcends all class, privilege and the sundry trifles…”There is an ongoing debate around the longstanding, if...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Malnutrition and hunger
A recently published Save the Children report says Pakistan has the second highest number of babies born into hunger globally. What does that mean for a child born in Pakistan?Pakistan is a country where one out of 26 newborns die within the first 28 days of life; nearly one in 20 infants...
Published on: February 23, 2025
Stability and growth
R elative economic stability achieved over the past year has not translated into job creation. Going forward, the choice of sectors best positioned to create jobs will depend on factors like investment trends, productivity and government policies.The economic stabilisation measures may have...
Published on: February 16, 2025
Re-engineering the Middle East
In The Clash of Civilisations, Samuel Huntington argues that the fundamental sources of conflict in the post-Cold War world will no longer be ideological or primarily economic, but cultural. He posits that the world is divided into several major civilisations—such as Western, Islamic,...
Published on: February 16, 2025
The evolution of youth policy in Pakistan
P akistan is often referred to as an “orange country,” a term used to describe nations where the youth population comprises a majority of the overall demographic. With more than 60 percent of the population under the age of 30, Pakistan stands at a critical juncture in its...
Published on: February 16, 2025