2016

The Middle East is undergoing drastic geopolitical change, and the impact is not restricted to within its geographical boundaries. The Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia at large are the first to feel the heat of the events in the Middle East. This forces countries like Pakistan, which has been criticized for playing a ‘dubious’ role in the war on terror, …

Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits it in its awakening. Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years, and whose strongmen are yet in the cradle. Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation. (Gibran Khalil Gibran) Not many moons ago, the land of the pure literally flowed with …

Whether it pours down from the sky or spouts from the earth, water makes its own way to flow. This is all because of a natural phenomenon the modern science names gravity. But the discovery of laws of gravity is not as old as is man’s knowledge of the fact that water flows down along the slope. Like a Supreme …

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is the most important mega project in Pakistan after the Indus Water Works initiated in the 1960s. There is no doubt that the Corridor will be hugely beneficial for the people of Pakistan as well as China. The $46 billion worth of investment that China has already committed for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is likely …

Public finances are needed for rendering public services; ranging from security, justice and other basic amenities like health, education, etc. One of the striking features of the countries that made extraordinary development in almost every field of life is that they had the capacity to raise much higher tax revenues as a percentage of GDP. Of course, some other factors …

JWT is doing a commendable job by providing fingertip information on all subjects on a single platform. I do applaud the efforts of Team JWT. Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): First of all, please tell us about your educational background. Dr Muhammad Raza Tanveer (DMRT): I got my schooling from various institutions in different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It …

The Baloch problem has so far mostly been seen from the lens of the classic realist angle of national security. The pathologies identified and the remedies suggested for resolution of the crisis also, therefore, bear a strong imprimatur of a security-centred approach. It is time the simmering discontent was doused with a human-security-centric approach appealing directly to the public weal …

Only a few years back, it was like a dream to have a prestigious institution like the Higher Education Commission (previously the Universities Grants Commission) in Pakistan. When we take a retrospective look at the status of higher education in the country, we find that the benefits brought by the HEC for Pakistani students are numerous — though it still …

Even before Plato conceived the philosopher-king, people yearned for clever, dispassionate and principled government. When the usual run of rulers proves cowardly, indecisive or discredited, turning to the wisdom and expertise of a technocrat is particularly tempting. History suggests that technocrats do best when blitzing the mess made by incompetent and squabbling politicians. Technocracy was once a communist idea: with …

1. Economic Relations The United States is Pakistan’s largest bilateral trading partner. In FY 2015 (July 2014 – June 2015), Pakistan’s total exports were estimated at $24.59 billion and imports at $41.43 billion. During this period, an amount of $18.72 billion was remitted to Pakistan by the overseas Pakistanis working in various countries and among them 14.4% were only from …