EVER since returning to power, the Shehbaz Sharif government has been pushing an austerity narrative like all previous dispensations. This narrative is mostly built around the announcement of superficial measures and is not backed by concrete policy. Recently, it has notified certain cost-cutting measures. The so-called austerity package contains some cosmetic measures, such as a temporary ban
Sindh government is set to buy 138 double-cabin vehicles for assistant commissioners at a cost of around Rs2 billion, according to a Sept 2 Dawn article. An earlier article said that renowned economist Dr Kaiser Bengali resigned from the federal government’s high-powered committee for rightsizing because he wasn’t in favour of axing 150,000 low-grade jobs (in grade 1 to grade 16). The same piec
Infrastructure development plays a pivotal role in driving economic growth, enhancing prosperity, and improving living standards. However, financing these projects poses a significant challenge, particularly in developing economies. Governments around the world are continuously searching for effective and sustainable funding mechanisms to support such large-scale initiatives. Sukuk, a Shariah-c
A third of Pakistan’s urban population lives in Karachi and Lahore, leading to unplanned sprawl and growth of illegal developments. Informal settlements do not comply with planning rules, delivering substandard living conditions and disrupting city functions, says ADB’s report “Pakistan National Urban Assessment”. Karachi has two of the world’s most overpopulated residential areas, the Garden a
Given Pakistan’s huge population, currently growing at 2.55 per cent annually, as revealed by the 7th National Population and Housing Census 2023, the country needs to boost agricultural output by at least the same rate, if not higher. Across the globe, the most common approach used to accomplish this is through intensification (enhancing crop yields and cropping intensity) and extensification (ex