News

Power outages galore as shortfall exceeds 6,000MW

People across Pakistan have been hit by a double whammy of extremely hot weather and prolonged power outages, with many distribution companies (Discos) resorting to observe loadshedding after the power shortfall crossed 6,000 megawatts on Saturday. In urban areas, three to six hours of loadshedding was reported while rural areas of the country experienced up to 12 hours of outages. In additi

The export of labourers and drivers

Pakistan has exported roughly 115,000 people as managers since 1971 and 32,000 as doctors. A paltry number compared to labourers and drivers — the two top categories of emigrants — whose numbers are 5m and 1.8m, respectively, over the last three decades. The GCC countries, Europe, the US and the UK, remain historically popular destinations. These can be the ones considered relatively luck

Balochistan Budget: The disillusionment continues

Balochistan has been replete with financial woes from day one. Over the last several years now, and especially since the reports of the country slipping toward default, the financial woes of Balochistan have further compounded to the extent of compelling Chief Minister of Balochistan Abdul Quddoos Bizenjo to boycott the federal budget session and the National Economic Council due to the prevailing

KP Budget: A bloated salaries and pension bill

The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing a severe cash crunch for the last year because the centre is not fully paying its net hydel profits (NHP) and has also stopped funds committed for the erstwhile tribal areas. The previous government of PTI in the province was forced to borrow Rs285 billion from the State Bank of Pakistan under the ‘Ways & Means’ facility to pay salaries and pen

The case for export-led growth

Pakistan’s development history has been in a state of crisis for decades. One major factor underlying this struggle is an imbalance in the balance of payments that can only be corrected through enhanced foreign exchange earnings via exports. Currently, the economy relies on unsustainable sources such as remittances, foreign loans, and tariffs, along with indirect taxes, to support a heavily imp