Archives

In Pakistan, tax collection as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is considerably low when compared to similar economies. The ratio is low for both direct and indirect taxes. In 2012-13, tax-GDP ratio for direct and indirect taxes collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was 3.2pc and 5.3pc, respectively. Overall the ratio was 8.5pc. There are numerous …

Three important developments emanated out of Balochistan in August 2015. First, 400 Baloch nationalist-separatists surrendered and laid down their arms in a ceremony that was part of Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations on August 14 in Quetta; second, news circulated in local dailies of the alleged death of perhaps the most hardened nationalist-separatist in Balochistan, Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, the leader …

Pakistan and Afghanistan are once again reaching the ground zero less than a year after Ghani’s first official visit to Islamabad in mid-November 2014 that raised hopes for a cordial bilateral relationship. The rift became visible recently when senior Afghan officials launched a diatribe against Pakistan after the fall of Afghan province of Kunduz to the Taliban. However, Prime Minister …

A two-day moot in Lahore, organized by Embassy of France in collaboration with various stakeholders, brought together a distinguished galaxy of diplomats, development practitioners, people associated with the NGOs and INGOs, civil society activists, intellectuals, ministers and government representatives. Around 600 people attended the event. Officially titled as ‘Pakistan to Paris: On the road to 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21)’. …

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Pakistan recently, as part of a multi-country tour to explore opportunities for greater economic and security cooperation in the region following the landmark nuclear deal with the P5+1. Addressing a joint press conference during his day-long visit to Pakistan, he said that Iran intends to expand economic cooperation with Pakistan, along with increasing regional …

Concerned political newsmakers across Pakistan are crying wolf. Nobody can predict the future — what is next after Sharif’s demise. The emerging political culture of ‘blame game’ is no surprise to any rational observers of Pakistan’s modern history. It typifies what can go terribly wrong when the so-called politicians-turned-egoistic authoritarians are the assumed masters of the nation’s affairs for over …

Introduction Sensu stricto (strictly speaking), there are no models of the criminal justice. Even so, the criminal justice system of a country, on close examination, may be found following a value or set of values that define its underlying ideology, which may punctuate at every stage of the criminal processes involved in it. The criminologists prefer to style these underlying …

Badaber camp was given to the United States on a 10-year lease in 1958 during Ayub Khan’s rule. At that time, it was known as Peshawar Air Station where a Communications Group of the American Air Force, under CIA’s direct supervision, had installed interception equipment for spying on the USSR and intercepting their radio communication. This station remained operational till …

President Obama recently came closest to securing the biggest legacy any US president can ever hope for. The United States, Japan and other ten countries, on 5th October 2015, concluded negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — the biggest regional free trade deal in history. If approved, it will set new terms for nearly $28 trillion in trade and investment …

South Asia is a region locked up in several conflicts and disputes that have resulted in wars between India and Pakistan; the two nuclear neighbours and archrivals. The region is the most volatile and unpredictable security complex. There are several states in it and all of them have different patterns of relations. India, being the most populated country and an …