Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Abid Hasan
There is now widespread consensus within Pakistan that critical to a well-functioning democracy, and to Pakistan’s stability and progress, is that elected officials must be held to the highest possible ethical and integrity ...

Friday, August 17, 2012
Abid Hasan
Whichever party wins the election, it will inherit an economy facing very difficult multiple challenges. The new government will be gifted an economy run into the ground by five years of criminal mismanagement. Pakistan will be ...

Friday, August 03, 2012
Abid Hasan
Despite unbounded potential for prosperity and progress, Pakistan continues to lurch from crisis to crisis with each passing day, and each time getting closer to the cliff. The country has been pushed towards the gorge as a result of ...

Monday, June 11, 2012
Abid Hasan and Shahid Kardar
These writers have individually argued in these columns before that other than the low tax-to-GDP ratio, Pakistan also suffers from the expenditure side of the equation being a black hole owing to acute structural issues because of ...

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Abid Hasan
For decades, the political and military elite governing Pakistan have followed a beg and borrow strategy for financing government expenditures, rather than raising taxes. In addition, this elite stole from these resources to benefit ...

Friday, September 09, 2011
Abid Hasan
Black holes are natural phenomena scattered in outer space from which nothing can escape, not even light. Recently, with the advent of modern governments, many man-made black holes have been observed on our planet, especially in our ...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Abid Hasan
Corruption and abuse of office for personal gain have reached alarming proportions in our country. Combatting this ever-growing menace would require the three pillars of the state – executive, parliament and judiciary – to apply all ...

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Abid Hasan
Pakistan is slowly slipping into a chaotic and ungovernable state, resulting from decades of military rule, dysfunctional parliaments and democratic governments, poor governance and the declining quality of public institutions. Deep ...

Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Abid Hasan
Three years after the euphoria produced by the elections of February 2008, both democracy and the economy are heading for catastrophic failure. Pakistan can be described as a train on collision course, with the driver and his staff ...

Monday, May 31, 2010
Abid Hasan
The Economic Philharmonic Orchestra — led ably by three doctors — is finalising the budget anthem. Expectations are high that the budget will address the following challenges facing Pakistan. First, inflation and unemployment which ...