August 2020

Impact Assessment of Tax Amnesties on Documenting Economy   Bilal Hassan Tax amnesties are introduced, largely, to allow for inclusion of non-documented economy in a country’s taxation system by encouraging taxable persons to declare unreported or underreported foreign as well as domestic assets; to revive economy and spur growth by encouraging a tax-compliant economy; to raise tax revenue for fiscal …

  Global Value Chain Development Report 2019: Technological Innovation, Supply Chain Trade, and Workers in a Globalized World Brief Summary and Relevance to Pakistan Omer Hussan Bajwa Brief Summary The Global Value Chains Development Report 2019, a joint publication of World Trade Organization, Institute of Developing Economies and four other institutions, deeply and comprehensively analyses global value chains (GVCs) along …

Burgeoning Population of Pakistan A Ticking Time Bomb? Faridullah We are living in a century of population explosion where the time bomb of rising population is on ticking mode, and is approaching fast its threshold level.  Our sheer indifference towards the issue—itself an issue—has only made the situation worse. And, Pakistan still does not seem to have population control measures …

An Analysis of CE 2019 Result WTI Team Every year, after the result of Central Superior Services (CSS) examination is announced, there is a barrage of criticism against the system of examination and selection, based on some myths. This is unfair and counter-productive as well. It is unfair because criticism is not backed by any data and, therefore, the myths …

Coronavirus, Oil and the Middle East. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is now experiencing the worst recession since that of 1929. It has developed with terrible speed, causing by July 24, the death of 636,000 people, with 15 million infected.Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people have been put out of work and the result …

Perpetuated Insanity against Besieged Humanity Racial injustice, Kashmir and Palestine—dark days ahead Dr Mahboob A. Khawaja “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” —Albert Einstein How to Mirror the Racial Injustice and Insanity against Mankind? There is much evil and …

Israel’s Annexation of West Bank An ill-conceived move that violates international law Aftab Abbasi As a fulfilment of the pledge he made during his election campaign, Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent Prime Minister of Israel, announced to kick-start the process to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank on July 1. However, in the face of the …

India-China Territorial Dispute in Perspective Mustansar Hussain Tasir Amidst their historical territorial rivalry and divergent regional and global outlooks, a rapid rise of China and India on world stage has further added to their existing geopolitical and geo-economic contest. Various international observers see their quest for absolute dominance in their overlapping spheres of interest and influence in different perspectives. Keeping …

HUMAN NATURE-CUM-CONSTITUTION Mawra Raja This write-up argues that there are two misconceptions about constitutions. Firstly, that they are rules governing state organs either through text or system. Secondly, that if the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, is replaced with Western ideals/ provisions, only then can real change come about in our system. The fact of the matter is that constitutions are …

10 things to know about Hong Kong National Security Law Zafrullah Saroya On June 30, China’s sweeping new national security law for Hong Kong took effect in the global financial hub. It is expected to mark the biggest change in the freewheeling former British colony since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Early assessments of the law, whose content …