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A spring in the town
Articles

A spring in the town

The doctrine of separation of powers, having its origin in the classic work of Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, and articulated into a constitutional principle, to safeguard liberties from the Government, in the US constitution, has no textual basis in our c
Published 28 Apr, 2020 11:42pm
Social and economic trends
Articles

Social and economic trends

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has recently released the key findings from two major surveys - the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLSMS) and the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) - of 2018-19. These efforts at
Published 28 Apr, 2020 12:54am
The coronavirus pandemic, clerics, and terrorism
Articles

The coronavirus pandemic, clerics, and terrorism

The whole ongoing kerfuffle about how to combat the coronavirus pandemic is not unique to Pakistan. Even the developed world is groping its way through the fog of incomprehension, misconception and feeble, halting measures. In Pakistan, the Pakistan Tehre
Published 28 Apr, 2020 12:54am
Critical appraisal of SBP report
Articles

Critical appraisal of SBP report

The State Bank of Pakistan's (SBP) report for the first half of the current financial year reiterated its unconditional support for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme conditions - a pledge restated in the one-page Monetary Policy Committee st
Published 27 Apr, 2020 02:51am
Mind your distance
Articles

Mind your distance

Man is a social animal. Social isolation causes depression. Human interaction can never be replaced with machine interaction. Facebook can never substitute face to face. Virtual is not real. Human touch cannot to be compared with touch screen. And so on a
Published 27 Apr, 2020 02:51am
Is the cement 'cartel' back?
Articles

Is the cement 'cartel' back?

It is widely argued that historically cement cartel existed in Pakistan. It appears that the 'cartel' is back. Last week, reportedly, there was a meeting of cement companies to jack up prices in North. Some say that how can a cartel persist with around tw
Published 25 Apr, 2020 09:49pm
Implementation of consumer laws big challenge
Articles

Implementation of consumer laws big challenge

There is a famous Latin term 'Caveat venditor' which means 'let the seller beware'. This phrase is in stark contrast with the widely known and used contractual phrase 'Caveat emptor' that solely puts the burden of quality and suitability of the goods befo
Published 25 Apr, 2020 09:49pm
Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus?
Articles

Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus?

Does sunlight rapidly destroy the coronavirus? A White House presentation on a mysterious government study says so - but some scientists have called for caution as we await more evidence.
Published 25 Apr, 2020 09:49pm
Power sector: What went wrong?
Articles

Power sector: What went wrong?

It was way back in 1958 that Wapda was established in Lahore to electrify the rural and urban areas, stretching from one end of the country to the other, except Karachi which was electrified by Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) - the first IPP in the
Published 25 Apr, 2020 06:43am
Free cheese in a mouse trap
Articles

Free cheese in a mouse trap

Sitting down to write this week's column, I am rather confused; are we or are we not in a lockdown. Whilst the Islamabad city administration has been performing admirably in an extremely challenging time, the current extension order is a complicated, if n
Published 25 Apr, 2020 06:43am
Unprecedented global oil market turmoil and Pakistan
Articles

Unprecedented global oil market turmoil and Pakistan

Global lockdowns have resulted in a drastic reduction in oil demand. A long and painful deliberative process to cut the global supply of oil by OPEC+ group of major oil exporting countries, each vying for greater oil revenues and lesser proportion of cutt
Published 24 Apr, 2020 02:52am
A simple tax bailout
Articles

A simple tax bailout

As mentioned in the last column [Tax bailout for economic revival, Business Recorder, April 17, 2020], all businesses-badly hit by lockdown in the wake of Covid-19 epidemic and due to sluggish economic activities, high utility bills and markup rate-are de
Published 24 Apr, 2020 02:52am
Your weekly columnist: an endangered species?
Articles

Your weekly columnist: an endangered species?

Once upon a time there was news; compact and closely orchestrated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Fake news was unheard of; just plain vanilla dispensed by the government. The newspapers read like compendia of badly drafted government han
Published 23 Apr, 2020 02:53am
Lives versus livelihoods?
Articles

Lives versus livelihoods?

Nobody would have ever thought to face a terrible trade-off, like we, to either baldly damage our livelihoods through prolonged lockdowns, or to sacrifice the lives of thousands, if not millions, to this pandemic COVID-19.This article is an attempt to eva
Published 23 Apr, 2020 02:53am
Bringing state back into public service
Articles

Bringing state back into public service

All these years it has been the working classes of the world who have been carrying on their fragile shoulders the ever mounting load of opulence of the rich. But the slowdown of the wheels of the national economies following lockdowns of varying degrees
Published 22 Apr, 2020 02:52am
IPP enquiry report
Articles

IPP enquiry report

The IPP enquiry report has surfaced after equally contentious Wheat and Sugar report. It is a good omen that questions are being asked and the system is not afraid of the powerful. Irrespective of the outcome, the transparency and fearlessness of the GoP
Published 22 Apr, 2020 02:52am
Provincial impact of coronavirus
Articles

Provincial impact of coronavirus

All parts of Pakistan have been hit by the Corona Virus. The pandemic continues to spread rapidly and the, more or less, partial lockdown persists throughout the country. Already, the negative economic consequences are becoming visible. The federal and th
Published 21 Apr, 2020 03:03am