Syed Bakhtiyar Kazmi

Uncertain
Opinion

Uncertain

At the end of the day, despite all our technological advances, we sure live in a messed up, uncertain world. Considering what happened yesterday (in the context of when the article is written and not when it is published), following which everyone is hopi
Updated 13 Jan, 2020 07:23am
Don't grow?
Opinion

Don't grow?

If there is one global ranking that Pakistan will surely top hands down, than it is the one for most potatoes in a year; due credit to an anonymous chap on Tweeter, and to understand what the ranking is all about, translate potato into Urdu.
Updated 28 Dec, 2019 05:12am
How to grow
Opinion

How to grow

Based on my limited experience of world economies, and based on other people's research, there does not exist a single recipe for growth. And recipe is the right world; given the right instructions even an idiot can boil an egg; unfortunately, however, no
Updated 21 Dec, 2019 07:59am
Looking good
Opinion

Looking good

"Looking goof Billy Ray!" Louis, "Feeling good Louis!" Billy Ray-quotes from one of my favorite comedy movies of yester years, "Trading Places". With a very heavy heart, because of extenuating circumstances, the decision this week was to take a break from
Updated 14 Dec, 2019 07:37am
Strongman
Opinion

Strongman

As to why this article is titled strongman, kindly read the last week's column; admittedly this may be an attempt to market my column, but hey, don't hold that against me. Everyone does that!
Updated 30 Nov, 2019 06:39am
Intolerance
Opinion

Intolerance

Approximately 3 to 4 years ago, sitting with a few friends at Bantas, I made a prediction, which practice, by the way, I generally shun, that by 2050, the world would have reverted to Monarchy, and democracy will have been buried. The obvious related effe
Updated 23 Nov, 2019 08:40am
Cities
Opinion

Cities

Perhaps one of the most difficult thing in column writing is to continue from where you left off the previous week; which by the way is a consequence of another difficulty column writers struggle with regularly, managing your thoughts in the allotted spac
Updated 09 Nov, 2019 07:36am
Getting it wrong
Opinion

Getting it wrong

Notwithstanding that staying up to date in a world where you are constantly bombarded by all kinds of information, including fake information, is a huge hassle, with which one in any case continues to struggle; I however seem to be getting bogged down wit
Published 02 Nov, 2019 12:00am
Not a problem
Opinion

Not a problem

Lack of natural resources is not a problem; Pakistan is blessed that way.
Published 26 Oct, 2019 12:00am
What is the problem?
Opinion

What is the problem?

Remarkably, this is one of those rare times, the column sticks to its commitment and continues from where it left off last week, the Problem Statement. Last week, while highlighting the importance of a concise and precise problem statement, necessary for
Published 19 Oct, 2019 12:00am
The problem statement
Opinion

The problem statement

As somebody wise once said, albeit I am not sure who, "If a problem does not have a solution, it is not a problem, it is a hard fact of life".
Updated 12 Oct, 2019 05:57am
It is easy
Opinion

It is easy

That was some speech. Kudos! To venture a guess, all the books about the best speeches in history, well if not the best, the most impactful, will need to be revised. The speech was impactful enough to be discussed in a column which at its core is absolute
Published 05 Oct, 2019 12:00am
It is easy
Print

It is easy

That was some speech. Kudos! To venture a guess, all the books about the best speeches in history, well if not the best, the most impactful, will need to be revised. The speech was impactful enough to be discussed in a column which at its core is absolute
Published 05 Oct, 2019 12:00am
Oh come on!
Markets

Oh come on!

The genesis of this particular piece, and the credits therefore, accrue to Mark Wiesbrot, co-director Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.
Published 28 Sep, 2019 12:00am
Greed
Print

Greed

Beginning the article with Gordon Gekko's famous utterance might be considered unoriginal, hence ignored. Albeit good or bad, the objective today is neither to praise greed nor bury it; simply put we need to decide.
Published 21 Sep, 2019 12:00am
Captured
Print

Captured

Remarkably, well at least on the face of it, economic decisions are now the domain of the electronic media; not that there is any intention of taking any credit away from the media celebrities who seemingly reversed a decision which might have resulted in
Updated 14 Sep, 2019 07:58am
Infrastructure
Markets

Infrastructure

So we do not like Keynes anymore. Honestly speaking, Keynes probably was right when he argued that in times of depression the Government needs to stimulate demand, even if it needs to borrow to increase government spending. That is exactly what the West d
Published 07 Sep, 2019 12:00am
The second step to growth
Print

The second step to growth

A particular recent statement from the law ministry about its achievements over the last year has everything to do with the economy.
Published 31 Aug, 2019 12:00am
Repeating history
Markets

Repeating history

Ultimately, it was the traders, not soldiers who took down the Ottoman Empire. Reading history is always educational, and fun, and with time and hindsight on your side, you sometimes start conjuring "What if" scenarios, the way history should have been; i
Published 24 Aug, 2019 12:00am
Unskilled
Print

Unskilled

Eid Mubarak. Definitely I am failing my reading list miserably; the pile of unread material keeps growing and there just aren't enough hours in the day, or perhaps time management skills are seriously lacking. Nonetheless, rummaging through the pile came
Published 15 Aug, 2019 12:00am