Pakistan needs to end this practice of sending its economy to the intensive care unit (ICU) for resurrection, says Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar. The minister made this statement at a news conference on Friday, at the end of a three-day visit to Washington during which he also represented Pakistan at the official trade and investment conference. “We need to end this cycle of taking loa
You might have faced this situation once or twice, or maybe never. People living from paycheque to paycheque often find it extremely difficult to manage an emergency like hospitalisation, an unexpected unbudgeted expense, or a utility bill payment in the last days of a month. What options do they have? Borrow from friends and family or ask for an advance on their salaries? In these times of eco
With petroleum prices increasing to Rs277 per litre, the fuel cost burden for a motorcycle owner will significantly increase. Pakistan needs to move fast towards electric motorcycle adoption to provide relief to these lower-middle and middle-class households. This requires enabling market-driven approaches with the government playing a facilitator role. Assuming an average of one-litre consumpt
This year Ramazan will definitely be tougher than previous years for many low and middle-income group people, especially in terms of skyrocketing prices in the last year. After over 12 hours of fasting, people try to enjoy lavish iftar by arranging many items. But many people with mediocre wages and salaries are likely to limit their purchases this year. All responsibility lies on the govern
Pakistan has been suffering from chronic governance issues for the past several decades. Inheriting the post-colonial bureaucracy and with its manageable population of 30 million (West Pakistan, 1947), the country managed to get by in the early days. The population continued to grow to 70m in 1971 and to 130m in 1998, but it remained unfashionable and politically incorrect to talk about harmoni