The Pakistan-Iran pipedream
For a government often accused of indecision and weakness, Islamabad has been strikingly defiant about its determination to pursue a natural gas pipeline deal with Iran. Pakistan’s strident tone has not changed in light of Washington’s heightened sanctions regime vis-à-vis Iran, which bans countries from having commercial transactions with Tehran. The foreign ministry has declared that the sanctions do not affect the pipeline project. Other Pakistanis, however, fear that the sanctions may well present problems. One prominent lawyer has suggested Islamabad go so far as to lobby the UN to ensure the ...
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What the media did not tell you
As always, we have been busy with our usual chronic problems – Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) having a go at each other, the worsening electricity crisis, crying and cribbing over foreign aid, making insane statements that hurt at least one segment of our society and so on. But, while the nation was kept busy with this, there were other serious developments happening on the political front and economic front that our lovely media forgot to tell you about because they either thought it was not news worthy or they just decided that you do not ...
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US economy: A downhill trip
The economy of the United States (US) is in dire straits. In June 2010, a well known financial sector analyst, and the woman who blew the doors open on the 2008 mortgage crisis, Meredith Whitney, forecasted that two million government employees would be laid off in the coming years because of fiscal problems. It is happening. Over 300,000 employees were fired in fiscal year 2011, and this number is about to increase by 50 per cent in 2012. Around 450,000 people who work for US states, counties, cities, towns and villages could get the pink slips next year, which would ...
Read Full PostWhy the US dollar fell during current global crises
An interesting aspect of the Libyan, Tunisian and Japanese crises was that the US dollar fell against other major currencies, by a lot. Normally, in times of crises, investors tend to move towards the dollar. It is viewed as a safe haven. However, during the current crises, the dollar fell to historic lows against the yen, before the massive international central-bank intervention reversed the fall (now, the financial market will remain uncertain in the next two years. You can bet on that). Even the Euro strengthened against the dollar and Europe is considered to be in a messy situation that needs ...
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Do parliamentarians care about the education emergency?
The education task force set up by the prime minister has recently termed the situation in Pakistan an “education emergency”. When media walas, policy makers, development sector workers and political activists are invited to sit together, they do not seem to think this “emergency” needs to be addressed urgently. The panel from the educational task force concluded that the main hurdle in educating the nation is the lack of political will. It is ironic that this statement comes directly from co-chair of Pakistan Education Task force Shahnaz Wazir Ali who is a member of parliament and the ruling party. If not her, ...
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Don’t just blame the government
Last week, I read an article pertaining to the closure of 260 industrial units in Sindh in 2009. It made me question one thing – who is to blame for this? Considering this is the Pakistani community and media in question, only one party could be at fault – the government. Reasons cited for the closure were the power crisis, lack of finances, and the global recession. However, is it actually fair to place the blame squarely on the government’s shoulders? How many of us have actually attempted to take action to solve the power crisis? I’ve seen street lamps being powered ...
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How to run the economy (for dummies)
Anyone can run the economy. Ask any lawmaker and he’ll point out exactly what is wrong with the economy, what is needed to fix it and what conspiracy has prevented a solution from being implemented. But the economy is still alive and kicking and the country has not defaulted on its sovereign debt just yet. The following is a collection of ‘winning’ arguments that have been presented by legislators. It is important to note here that even monkeys have been known to run an economy quite efficiently. I’m sure we can do better. Here’s what they said: 1. Eat less sugar – A legislator ...
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There are reasons to celebrate Pakistan
There’s no doubt that living in Pakistan one has to deal with perpetual bad news. Turn the television on, open the newspaper or just take a look around and you will see the problems that surround us. To avoid having to deal with the depression and stress caused by the situation we live in, a number of people I know have taken to not tuning into any news channels or ever opening a newspaper. A friend told me the other day that watching the news is ‘not allowed’ in her house and newspapers aren’t delivered anymore. Who can blame her? At ...
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Sugar crisis: Fed up of food politics
Had we punished the hoarders of basic food items in 2008 and 2009, we wouldn’t have to face the current crisis. Surprisingly, our ‘suo moto judiciary’ did not take notice of it. No one can deny that the current sugar shortage is self-created and that RAW, XE, CIA or Musharraf have nothing to with it. This drama is an epic mismanagement by the policy makers we have elected to operate the public relief departments of this county. We should all know the reasons behind this crisis because we are paying exactly the double of what was available only a few ...
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Why should I pay a flood tax?
As the flood waters start to recede and the government gears up for rehabilitation, it plans on putting the burden on the tax paying segment of the public. It will be people like you and me who are going to pay flood tax while our friends riding around in SUVs will have a good laugh. The government planned a one time tax that would be deducted from the taxpayers’ salary via property tax, while the 98.4 per cent of the non tax paying population will get away with more than just not paying tax. I, for one, am not in favor of ...
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