Pakistan’s Basic Billionaires
How the wealthy elite in Pakistan remains unimaginative with their use of capital, and why that is holding the nation back
The state of housing finance in Pakistan
Housing is a fundamental need whose provision can ensure a minimum standard of welfare for a family unit. Indeed, it has been...
Can Changan do for sedans what KIA did for SUVs?
The Alsvin is popular, cheap, and a quality buy. Will it be enough?
Hopium – II: How Pakistan needs to rethink its planning
Pakistan needs disruptive changes, a deregulated business environment, and SOE reform if its economy is to grow
The Bitcoin Craze: Should you jump in?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 3 years, chances are you must have been acquainted with the recent...
Punjab’s changing urban reality requires empowered local governments
Changing demographics mean the Punjab is transforming into a new iteration of the province. Its governance must be left to the hands of local representatives
The start-up culture is causing Pakistanis (& Wapistanis) to dream
Rising inflation, declining foreign reserves, energy shortages, political instability – These headlines make a grim reading for any investor. But in all...
How do consultants, donors and Pakistani ministries solve problems?
The flood of 2010 showed me (I was Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commision then) how dysfunctional policy was in Pakistan and...
Taken for a ride: Uber’s free ride wasn’t free after all
It was 9:07 pm and my thoughts raced like a tangled mess, loops of thread getting stuck at adjacent knots and reversing...
How depositors lose out on Islamic savings accounts
The increase in interest rates to almost all-time high levels, coupled with a super tax on bank profits, as well as an...
With Raast, context is Key
Raast by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has received a lot of excitement and interest from the financial payments industry, particularly...
Foreign Direct Investment – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The sort of FDI we need and the sort we don't
Can coalitions push through reforms?
There is a generally held belief in Pakistan, especially among many within and around the corridors of power, that the country needs...
Daronomics and its aftershocks
A familiar mess that the PTI has inherited
The bitter aftertaste of FED on Pakistan’s juice industry
In face of the need to broaden our tax net, the government imposed a flat 20% Federal Excise Duty (FED) on fruit...