Saturday, March 16, 2013
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr Ikramul Haq
At the end of full five years of civilian democratic rule, the country is in the grip of despair and disillusionment – the endless killing of innocent people and the economic collapse are posing serious threats to the survival of the ...

Thursday, February 28, 2013
Huzaima Bukhari and Dr Ikramul Haq
Tax declarations of holders of public office - in fact all taxpayers - do not enjoy 'confidentiality' and 'secrecy'. Declarations have to be provided by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as and when required by the Election ...

Saturday, December 15, 2012
Dr Ikramul Haq
Many members of parliament, who are under oath to act within the bounds of the supreme law of the land, have been violating tax laws by not filing tax returns or, instead, declaring laughable incomes. The study ‘Representation ...

Thursday, December 13, 2012
Dr Ikramul Haq
Huzaima Bukhari and US Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson’s statement on December 10 against the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline (IP) was not a mere reiteration of the economic interests of the United States and its allies; it has ...

Friday, November 09, 2012
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr Ikramul Haq
The legislature is sovereign, but the supremacy of the constitution is above everything. Legislators, in fact, exercise delegated powers given by the people within the framework of the constitution. Events since March 9, 2007 – a ...

Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Dr Ikramul Haq
The international drug mafia is involved in a business whose estimated total transactions cross $5 trillion-a-year, according to Drug Report 2011 of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. The partnership between drug ...

Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Huzaima Bukhari and Dr Ikramul Haq
Change of captains at the Federal Board of Revenue in recent years-from Suhail Ahmad to Salman Siddique and then Mumtaz Haider Rizvi-has changed nothing. As an organisation, the FBR has failed to enforce tax laws, let alone convince ...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr Ikramul Haq
The great poet, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, on his return from a visit to Dhaka in the wake of dismemberment of Pakistan composed ‘Dhaka say wapsi par’ (On returning from Dhaka) depicting the agony and pain of the separation between the two ...

Saturday, February 11, 2012
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr Ikramul Haq
In the ‘First Quarter Report 2011-12’, the State Bank of Pakistan, while acknowledging growth of 29.7 percent in revenue collection, has observed that on the basis of the “seasonal trend in FBR revenues, the amount collected up to ...

Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Dr Ikramul Haq
The ultimate cynicism that afflicts a society is acceptance of corruption as a way of life. Unfortunately, after six decades of independence, this is precisely the point we have reached. The finance minister of Pakistan, during ...