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Dr Ikramul Haq
Dr Ikramul Haq

  • June 26, 2023

    Terrorism and drug trade

    Today marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. This worldwide observance was decided by the UNGA in 1987 to raise...

  • April 12, 2023

    The forgotten promise

    “The state shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according...

  • March 14, 2023

    Taxation and inflation

    The Federal Board of Revenue has claimed collection of net revenue of Rs4,493 billion in the first eight months of the current financial year...

  • June 26, 2021

    Phony wars

    June 26 marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The theme for 2021 is ‘Share facts on drugs, save lives’....

  • March 31, 2021

    Illicit cigarette trade

    “Only two companies pay 98 percent of total tax . The remaining 40 percent companies pay meagre two percent tax” – Prime Minister Imran...

  • March 24, 2021

    Resolve for Pakistan

    The resolution of March 23, 1940 paved the way for a separate homeland for the Muslims of India after a long-drawn struggle against colonial...

  • June 30, 2020

    Unconstitutional levy

    The PTI government on June 26, 2020 to the utter surprise and dismay of all increased the prices of all petroleum products substantially; it is...

  • May 24, 2020

    Budgeting in a pandemic

    Adviser to the PM on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, in a press release issued on May 18, 2020, noted that while preparing the next...

  • December 27, 2019

    Judicial challenges

    With the appointment of Justice Gulzar Ahmad as the 27th chief justice of Pakistan on December 21, 2019, there are expectations that the...

  • November 15, 2019

    A new tax agency

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on October 3, 2019 approved an ambitious three-year plan to conduct nationwide surveys for tax assessment, evaluating...

  • June 26, 2019

    Politics and drugs

    Today, June 26, 2019 marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Each year the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ...

  • June 14, 2019

    Raising Rs10 trillion

    The prime minister of Pakistan, in his brief address to nation on June 10, 2019 – a day before the announcement of the budget for fiscal year...

  • January 20, 2019

    Journey to judicial reforms

    In his address on January 17, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said: “There are about 1.9 million cases pending in the country before all the...

  • December 21, 2018

    Wealth creation and poverty

    Speaking at a function held by the Pakistan Business Council on December 13, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan stressed the need for wealth creation...

  • November 11, 2018

    A place called home

    It is unfortunate that since Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme, his ‘flagship project’ aimed at...

  • September 11, 2018

    Fear of freedom

    The blatant acts of terrorism against the US on September 11, 2001 jolted the entire world. These attacks raised important questions about the...

  • June 26, 2018

    A dangerous nexus

    Every survey done since the promulgation of the Prohibition Order, 1979, shows that our nation has persistently sunk deeper into narco-terrorism...

  • April 21, 2018

    Article 62 and parliament

    Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa in Ishaq Khan Khakwani and Others v Mian Nawaz Sharif & Others : “…..the vague, uncertain, obscure and conflicting...

  • November 12, 2017

    From Panama to Paradise

    “The ‘Paradise Papers’ have once again highlighted the failure of governments around the world to deal with the scourge of tax...

  • August 28, 2017

    Tax reforms: a new approach

    All economists agree that a good tax system is one that raises money with minimal distortion to the economy. In Pakistan, the tax system is the main...

  • June 26, 2017

    Terror and the drug trade

    June 26 marks the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. It is observed to raise awareness about the dangers of drug abuse to...

  • June 04, 2017

    State of the budget

    The main faultline of Budget 2017-18 is the failure to provide a roadmap for self-reliance to collecting taxes as per the real tax potential and...

  • May 25, 2017

    Respite for the salaried?

    The majority of Pakistanis will certainly be dejected after hearing the budget speech of Ishaq Dar on May 26, 2017. This is not because there will...

  • May 19, 2017

    Towards equitable growth

    The two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation was held in Beijing on May 14-15, 2017. The event, attended by Prime Minister Mian...

  • February 27, 2017

    Honest declarations

    In a social democracy, taxes play an important role: parliament possesses the exclusive power to levy them and citizens pay the amount to the state...

  • January 22, 2017

    Laxity in tax compliance

    Since political parties generally flout laws and rules, their claims to protect and promote democratic values sound clichéd to all. This...

  • January 14, 2017

    Laws of disqualification

    An extensive debate is going on in the media and elsewhere about the laws related to disqualification of elected members of parliament, especially...

  • January 04, 2017

    The need for judicial reform

    With the appointment of Justice Saqib Nisar as the 25th chief justice of Pakistan on December 31, 2016, there are expectations that the much-needed...

  • November 25, 2016

    Celebrating the court

    “The purpose of celebrating the 150th anniversary is that we want to make people aware that the judiciary is active to protect their rights...

  • November 14, 2016

    Beyond Panama

    Long before the Bahamas and Panama leaks, many cases of unlawful capital outflows, tax avoidance and corruption by public officeholders and others...

  • September 24, 2016

    From Panama to the Bahamas

    The Bahamas leaks, with the names of many Pakistani businessmen, officials and offspring of politicians allegedly doing clandestine/suspicious...

  • September 11, 2016

    Lessons from 9/11

    Since the ghastly attacks on the twin towers at New York on September 9, 2001, humanity at large has been continuously facing threats of terrorism...

  • September 07, 2016

    Democratic political parties

    The lack of democratic values within political parties is a perpetual weakness of our system. Dominated by individuals, parties openly defy laws...

  • August 21, 2016

    Taxing battles

    “All public power is a sacred trust, which is to be exercised fairly, justly, honestly and in accordance with law”. – Supreme...

  • June 29, 2016

    Terrorism and the drug trade

    June 26 marks the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The day was decided by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987...

  • June 05, 2016

    A routine exercise

    With the announcement of the budget for FY2016-17, it has again been established that our budget-makers, no matter under what regime, consciously or...

  • May 08, 2016

    No more commissions please

    The tug of war on forming a commission under the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act 1956 or under a special law, the ‘Panama Papers Act...

  • April 25, 2016

    Our curious paradox

    The prime minister of Pakistan, in his second address to the nation on April 22, 2016 on the allegations arising from the Panama Leaks, has made it...

  • April 15, 2016

    Innocent unless proven guilty

    A heated debate is going on in the media, parliament and elsewhere, revolving around the best way to investigate the disclosures contained in the...

  • April 07, 2016

    Offshore, onshore

    In the wake of ‘Panama Papers: Politicians, Criminal & Rogue Industry That Hide Their Cash’, heated debates at home and abroad are...

  • March 10, 2016

    Remembering a black day

    March 9, 2007 was, undoubtedly, a tragic day in our history. The Chief Justice of Pakistan was barred from performing his duties, as a reference...

  • February 21, 2016

    Pakistan’s real dilemma

    According to the spokesman of the Federal Board of Revenue , the collection of Rs1,664 billion till February 15 – against collections of...

  • February 02, 2016

    Excessive taxation

    The federal government has imposed fixed sales tax per litre on all petroleum products with effect from February 1, 2016, violating the statutory...

  • January 24, 2016

    The IMF and our taxes

    In a recent report, ‘Unlocking Pakistan’s Tax Revenue Potential’, released on December 4, 2015, the International Monetary Fund...