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Ihtasham Ul Haque
Ihtasham Ul Haque

  • July 31, 2017

    The mystery of economic growth

    Pakistan’s decade long subdued GDP growth rate would significantly improve to over eight percent following the commissioning of multi-billion...

  • July 24, 2017

    Sticky opinions

    INSIGHT All official projections and estimates set for 2017-18 are fast getting unattainable mainly due to the political battle on Panama leaks,...

  • July 17, 2017

    Last decree

    OPINION The fast paced dollarisation of the economy has started taking place because of roaring speculations being made in the wake of the...

  • July 10, 2017

    Counterfeiting anomalies?

    INSIGHT The economic cost of prolonged political confrontation is further getting heavier whose latest victim is Pakistan’s currency that has...

  • July 03, 2017

    Rickety road

    INSIGHT The unfortunate lengthening of shadows over the political horizon are continuously turning the tide against the struggling economy, forcing...

  • June 26, 2017

    Partner in crime

    INSIGHT For the first time, after the completion of its three year funding programme, the International Monetary Fund , has admitted that fiscal...

  • June 19, 2017

    Appropriate restructuring

    INSIGHT With the passage of 2017-18 federal budget sans the participation of the opposition, perplexing issues are confronting the government that...

  • June 12, 2017

    Budgeting for polls

    INSIGHT Unanticipated fast paced developments on the internal and external fronts are likely to increase uncertainty and further hurt the already...

  • June 05, 2017

    ‘Slogan budget’

    The federal budget for 2017-18 pledges very little to spur the much needed real growth but does speak of an expansionary and very inflationary...

  • May 22, 2017

    The way forward

    Pakistan-China close-cooperation strengthening got an enormous push, following a decision by the two governments to massively develop Pakistan’s...

  • May 15, 2017

    Feeling squeezed

    INSIGHT Crunch bells have started ringing in an election year, forcing the beleaguered PML government to desperately look for more external...

  • May 08, 2017

    Mouldy matters

    INSIGHT Pakistan’s fragile economy continues to suffer due to growing political instability, now being witnessed more intensely due to the...

  • May 01, 2017

    Weighing up returns

    INSIGHT The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government is contemplating various proposals to make available required funds for its populist fifth and...

  • April 24, 2017

    It’s not over yet

    INSIGHT The decision taken by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the infamous Panama leaks has raised many questions amid the critics, as well as the...

  • April 17, 2017

    Beyond earnings

    The government’s financial worries are rapidly worsening despite borrowing heavily from banks, including the State Bank of Pakistan . The...

  • April 10, 2017

    No more hunky dory

    INSIGHT Finance minister Ishaq Dar along with his economic team concluded Article IV annual consultations with the International Monitory Fund in...

  • April 03, 2017

    Downward spiral

    INSIGHT The country’s export sector is choking fast and warrants innovative short and long term measures urgently to arrest declining exports...

  • March 27, 2017

    Murky affairs

    INSIGHT The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government is racing to complete numerous development projects, including some of the early harvest...

  • March 20, 2017

    Back in crisis

    INSIGHT The fragile economy is threatening sustainable and inclusive growth and is becoming a bigger challenge for the next budget due to the...

  • March 13, 2017

    Pending conclusions

    INSIGHT The prolonged period of political uncertainty arising out of Panama gate is threatening the struggling economy, and the battle ground now...

  • March 06, 2017

    Forgotten promises

    INSIGHT The country’s undocumented economy is to face harsh measures in the new budget aimed at limiting cash transactions through further...

  • February 27, 2017

    Squeezing debt balloon

    INSIGHT TThe central bank is considering a number of alternatives to stabilise the existing exchange rate policy aimed at increasing exports and...

  • February 20, 2017

    Struggling to make right

    INSIGHT The first six months of 2016-17 have witnessed an unwarranted 55 percent fiscal deficit and 90 percent current account deficit leaving...

  • February 13, 2017

    Dreaming big

    INSIGHT Pakistan’s GDP growth rate has not been as great as the policy makers and the government had hoped for, and has not surged to 4.5...

  • February 06, 2017

    Structural incompetence

    INSIGHT Pakistani economy suffered tragically due to the callous handling by three major political parties in the last few years with no one...

  • January 30, 2017

    False respite

    INSIGHT Pakistan Stock Exchange 100-index has achieved another milestone by being bullish to cross 50,000- point level last week and has been...

  • January 23, 2017

    Economic expulsion

    INSIGHT The International Monitory Fund’s prescribed preference of fiscal consolidation over growth did not yield enough results to help...

  • January 16, 2017

    No quickfix

    INSIGHT The uncertainty triggered by Panama leaks is refusing to die down, with its major casualty being the country’s struggling economy for...

  • January 09, 2017

    The gimmicks must end

    INSIGHT Fiscal deficit - the mother of all economic ills - has alarmingly increased in the first quarter of 2016-17, which does not bode well for...

  • January 02, 2017

    Comprehensive concerns

    INSIGHT The failure in managing the declining key macroeconomic indicators is resulting in low growth and the issue may turn serious in 2020-21 as...

  • December 26, 2016

    Autonomous decisions

    POLICY The belligerent Pakistan Muslig League-Nawaz government is once again confronting an embarrassing situation for unilaterally restricting...

  • December 19, 2016

    Thorny issues

    COMMENT The successful completion of Rs22 billion Turbat-Hoshab-Sorab section of the western route under China-Pakistan Corridor Project in a...

  • December 12, 2016

    Numerical damage

    Pakistan remains far behind regional economies in promoting savings and investment, which makes it difficult for planners to achieve high single...

  • December 05, 2016

    Towering twin deficits

    FINANCE Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government’s reckless domestic and external borrowing is scaling new peaks, as a result of which twin...

  • November 28, 2016

    Economic exasperation

    INSIGHT The size of the informal economy is growing at a phenomenal rate that is causing serious problems for policy makers to increase taxes and...

  • November 21, 2016

    Flimsy defence

    INSIGHT The eight-month long controversy over Panama Papers has eclipsed economic decision making, causing problems for the five major sectors -...

  • November 14, 2016

    A new web

    INSIGHT Jolted by the stunning upset victory of a political outsider in the White House, Pakistan fears new protectionist policies that may also...

  • November 07, 2016

    A con system

    INSIGHT Over the years, Pakistan’s regulations to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism have been strengthened to an extent,...

  • October 31, 2016

    Hostile questions

    INSIGHT Pakistan’s  highly vulnerable external sector is causing huge problems to the country’s economy, forcing the International...

  • October 24, 2016

    Mutual incompetence

    INSIGHT After giving a clean bill of health to the Pakistani economy in all its 12 reviews, the officials of the International Monetary Fund have...

  • October 17, 2016

    Elementary manoeuvring

    INSIGHT The government is struggling to improve the much needed macroeconomic fundamentals and the task is getting harder following the negative...

  • October 10, 2016

    Greater than income

    INSIGHT The World Bank and International Monitory Fund have given up their overt and covert opposition against the China Pakistan Economic...

  • October 03, 2016

    A thorny issue

    FINANCE Overcoming menacing delays, the government seems all set to work out the 9th National Finance Commission award before the next budget with...

  • September 26, 2016

    The water course

    As the Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz tenure starts to slide downhill towards the next election, lofty promises and larger than life claims made by...

  • September 19, 2016

    Tyranny of external debt

    INSIGHT The country’s rising external debt is fast becoming unsustainable and likely to start causing serious problems to the economy after...

  • September 12, 2016

    Growing gap

    FOCUS The difference of opinion between the government and the independent economists/ financial writers over the officially stated GDP growth rate...

  • September 05, 2016

    Stay or shift

    INSIGHT The declining exports, home remittances and foreign direct investment are making the struggling economy vulnerable; while the slow pace of...

  • April 25, 2016

    Politics, economy and Panama papers

    INSIGHT The political temperature continues to rise due to revelation after revelation against 200 Pakistanis involved in the Panama leaks,...

  • April 18, 2016

    Whistle for change

    INSIGHT The much needed political stability, without which there cannot be any economic stability, is yet again jeopardised as the issue of Panama...

  • April 04, 2016

    Wish list

    FOCUS The new trade policy once again seeks to achieve the formidable $35 billion export target by 2018, but without ensuring the resolution of...