2026-07-24-12-42

‘Peacemaking’ with shopkeepers

Pakistan’s fiscal crisis has persisted for decades; however, every successive government has attempted to resolve it... Published 24 Jul, 2026 05:06am

2026-07-24-12-42

‘Circuit breaker’ economic policy

In his inaugural speech, standing in front of the ‘10 Downing Street’ in London, on July 20, United Kingdom’s new... Updated 24 Jul, 2026 07:10am

2026-07-24-12-39

Necessary path to a development state

In a recent two-part article, “An economic cul-de-sac-I&II” (Business Recorder July 13-14 2026), I had argued... Published 24 Jul, 2026 05:06am

2026-07-23-01-07

When markets smell stagflation

Relief can be remarkably expensive. Only a few weeks ago, financial markets were celebrating what appeared to be the... Updated 23 Jul, 2026 06:41am

2026-07-23-01-07

CPEC miscalculation: how Pakistan built infrastructure but missed development

The debate surrounding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has become trapped between two extremes. One side... Published 23 Jul, 2026 05:26am

2026-07-23-01-07

Special tax procedure - back to square one—II

Illustration A A tyre manufacturer produces tyres worth Rs 5 billion where the margin of profit is say 25 percent.... Updated 23 Jul, 2026 06:50am

Leaders leave footprints not false images

Every journey in life consists of footprints which are mostly erased over time while some are etched in history.... Published 22 Jul, 2026 04:45pm

2026-07-22-12-45

Special tax procedure - back to square one—I

Through SRO S.R.O. 1109(I)/2026 dated July 14, 2026 the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed a Special... Updated 22 Jul, 2026 06:33am

2026-07-22-12-45

Protection for small savers, flexibility for large deposits

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has revised the scope of the minimum-return requirement on savings deposits.... Published 22 Jul, 2026 05:43am

2026-07-22-01-10

The mysterious art of defining corporate competition!

Competition underpins survival—geopolitically or commercially (corporate). The 9 Great Corporate Battles of the 15th... Updated 22 Jul, 2026 06:47am

Yin and yang of empowerment

“My boss loves to ‘talk’ about empowerment - talk is in inverted commas.” In a recent conversation with an employee,... Published 21 Jul, 2026 09:28pm

Gender-based violence: Who pays the cost of silence?

When silence overpowers human emotions, society turns inhuman and violent. Power imbalances intentionally hit gender... Updated 22 Jul, 2026 02:20pm

2026-07-21-01-14

The double-digit inflation

The month of June 2026 has witnessed a rate of inflation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 11.1 percent on a... Updated 21 Jul, 2026 06:37am

2026-07-21-01-14

Governance: the missing piece

We as a Nation, per haps, rank better than many other developing countries to the extent that we think ahead and are... Updated 21 Jul, 2026 06:38am

2026-07-21-01-14

The gas market Pakistan keeps refusing to build

Pakistan’s gas crisis is often described as a shortage problem. It is not. The country has pipelines, LNG terminals,... Published 21 Jul, 2026 05:11am

Eyewitness or accomplice?

Recently with grand fanfare, a senior bureaucrat has published his autobiography titled “The Eyewitness”. It is an... Published 20 Jul, 2026 09:00pm

Pakistan's trade deficit nears $40bn: a wake-up call for export-led growth

• Pakistan’s export sector has never suffered from a shortage of policies. Its real problem is inconsistent execution, writes former KCCI vice president

Published 20 Jul, 2026 08:46pm

2026-07-20-12-38

Public sensitivity to inflation

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) as calculated by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for May 2026 was 11.7... Published 20 Jul, 2026 05:50am

2026-07-20-12-38

Pakistan’s external calm is more fragile than it appears

Pakistan ended fiscal year 2026 with what appears, at first glance, to be reassuring external-sector news. The... Published 20 Jul, 2026 05:50am

2026-07-20-12-38

Reframing Pakistan-US trade

Pakistan and the United States have long shared a mutually beneficial relationship spanning security, economic, and... Updated 20 Jul, 2026 07:19am

2026-07-20-12-38

Repercussions of US-Iran conflict relatively minor

The ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran has once again intensified, with a shift in the nature of... Updated 20 Jul, 2026 07:26am

Reflection of political conflicts in trade barriers

• South Asian mutual trade remains below 4% of global trade, largely due to persistent non-tariff barriers and geopolitical tensions.

Published 19 Jul, 2026 07:36pm

2026-07-19-12-15

Reflections on provincial budgets FY27—V

In the case of Punjab, current expenditure as per budgetary estimate for FY26 stood at Rs2.7 trillion, while revised... Published 19 Jul, 2026 02:23am

Heat vs Bt cotton

• Bt gene expression generally reported to remain relatively stable across many experimental settings

Published 18 Jul, 2026 05:23pm

Resowing the seeds of food security in Pakistan

• Plight of smallholder farmers in Punjab, large landowners in Sindh presents complex agricultural dilemma

Published 18 Jul, 2026 05:14pm

2026-07-18-01-00

Pakistan’s circular debt isn’t a financial crisis

Circular debt is a governance failure; it isn’t a financial crisis. Every year, the nation is presented with a new... Published 18 Jul, 2026 05:03am

2026-07-18-01-00

Playing with fire

You are driving along merrily on a busy road when suddenly something pops up on your dashboard and you are jolted to... Updated 18 Jul, 2026 06:00am

2026-07-18-01-11

A changing role of CPEC 2.0 in Pakistan’s financial and external sectors

The recent confrontation involving Iran, Israel, and the United States has highlighted the vulnerability of global... Updated 18 Jul, 2026 08:12am