Kaiser Bengali

Kaiser Bengali

  • A fairy-tale budget

    A fairy-tale budget

    Craving for more revenues appears to have blinded budget-makers, unconsciously or consciously, to the impact of their decisions

  • Governance in Balochistan

    Governance in Balochistan

    Balochistan has 40 seats in the 442-member House – less than 10 per cent

  • Once upon a time…

    Once upon a time…

    Four tales relate to privatization of an airline, an automobile company, a bank and a telephone company

  • Attacking the NFC – again

    Attacking the NFC – again

    There is only one way forward: cut non-development expenditures, including non-combat defence expenditure

  • In defence of BISP and NFC

    The crushing fiscal constraints currently facing Islamabad are forcing moves in various directions to tame the deficit. A number of options can be...

  • Budget 2023-24: more business as usual

    Budget 2023-24 can be celebrated for its bravado or mourned for its lack of seriousness. The economy is in deep trouble; with the Economic Survey...

  • Analyzing IKnomics

    Imran Khan has forwarded a 10-point agenda to steer the economy out of the existential crisis that Pakistan faces. This is welcome, since the...

  • Theatres of abuse

    Pakistan is not new to contentious politics. However, the last decade has seen the rise of a politics of abuse and violence, with no one and no...

  • Economic challenges

    The ousted PTI government, claiming that it had inherited an economic mess, has left behind a situation bordering on disarray.Two headline variables...

  • Addressing economic distortions

    The political turmoil around the opposition’s no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan government is unlikely to be a short-lived affair. If...

  • Anatomy of the Seventh NFC

    The National Finance Commission is locked in a stalemate. Constitutionally mandated to give an Award for distribution of federal tax revenues, it...

  • The Afghanistan debate

    The Taliban victory in Afghanistan has elicited strong reactions. At one end, Islamists the world over are celebrating.; at the other end,...

  • Reviving the economy - Part II

    The first part of this article spoke about how it’s time the state reengineered its economy. Here are some of the measures that the state can...

  • Reviving the economy - Part I

    The dramatic developments in Afghanistan can possibly land Pakistan in a repeat of the post-Soviet withdrawal scenario. The US and the West can...

  • A plea for Balochistan

    The emerging situation in Afghanistan is indicative of a political and military meltdown, with serious multi-pronged security consequences for...

  • The finance minister’s statement

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen’s May 5 press conference was a breath of fresh air after a decade of fuddling and muddling on the economic front,...

  • A matter of trust

    The federal government has called for acceptance of the 2017 Census results “in the national interest” and promised a fresh census at an early...

  • Spotlight on Karachi

    The four-party agreement on Karachi — encompassing the PPP, MQM, PTI and NDMA — is a welcome development. Reportedly, the agreement is limited...

  • NFC: maneuverings and equity

    The writer was Sindh’s non-statutory member of the 7th NFC and Balochistan’s non-statutory member of the 9th NFC.The 10th NFC has been...

  • Amplifying port benefits

    Amidst the daily grind of grim news relating to Covid-19 infections and deaths has come one welcome development, showing that life goes on.The news...