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Friday November 14, 2025
Furqan Ali

  • October 31, 2025

    Wag the dog?

    The representational image shows a person holding a Pakistani flag. — Reuters/File We seem to have become a nation obsessed with a single...

  • October 21, 2025

    Between legal rights and lived realities

    Members of transgenders community and women are seen at a gathering for Sindh Moorat March. — AFP/FileDespite legislative advances like the...

  • October 11, 2025

    No readers, no writers, no literature Nobel

    This representational image shows a person reading a book. — Unsplash/FileThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences recently awarded the 2025 Nobel...

  • October 03, 2025

    Higher education antinomies

    Building of the Higher Education Commission in Islamabad. — HEC/FilePakistan’s higher education sector reflects a story of remarkable growth in...

  • July 21, 2025

    Are banks really evil?

    The Pakistani banking sector has become something of a national punching bag. It is accused of rent-seeking, tax dodging, ignoring the private...

  • June 16, 2025

    Stranded in transition

    In 2023, global clean energy investment soared to an unprecedented $1.8 trillion, but this record figure masks a deeper imbalance. While advanced...

  • April 28, 2025

    The TPO’s uphill battle

    The Federal Bureau of Revenue has quietly earned a name -- or rather, a bad name -- for its performance over the years. The country’s tax-to-GDP...

  • March 24, 2025

    The Dutch Disease trap

    Ghalib penned, “I go along some distance with every swift walker/ I do not yet recognise the guide.” This perfectly unspools the dilemma that...

  • March 10, 2025

    The price of short-term fixes

    The first review of the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility by the IMF is ongoing, making this a fitting moment to assess the macroeconomic landscape...

  • February 03, 2025

    The enigma of 1010

    The angel number, ‘1010’, is an enigmatic combination of numerology and spiritual circles. The number 1 signifies fresh starts, while 0...

  • December 23, 2024

    Revenue reform or illusion?

    Multilateral Development Agencies are often criticised for offering superficial, template-like reforms that target symptoms instead of addressing...

  • August 19, 2024

    Deconstructing Pakistan’s fiscal ‘win’

    The Ministry of Finance recently published fiscal operations figures for FY2024. And -- gee whiz! -- it has reported a primary surplus of Rs953...