Pak Affairs

  A lot has been said on the topic that is Pakistan a secular state or an Islamic one and the debate is likely to continue in the future as well. The so-called modernists stress that Pakistan must be a secular state whereas clerics and ideologists assert that it was to be an Islamic state. However, in 2015, a seventeen-judge …

Value-added Tax (VAT)/General Sales Tax (GST) frauds are rife in developing as well as advanced economies using VAT/GST system for raising indirect tax revenues. Perhaps, susceptibility of VAT/GST to frequent frauds as a weakness has emerged as the most-debated issue in the recent past. In Pakistan, GST fraud is no less than a daunting challenge for the Inland Revenue tax …

The total fiasco of the existing order implicates the drawing up of a new “Social Contract” in Pakistan to guarantee the provision of the inviolable human rights in letter and spirit. The theory of social contract first appeared during the 17th century when England, or to be more general, Europe was faced with the crisis of legitimacy of government to …

Energy crisis is perhaps the biggest problem Pakistan faces today. Over the years, lack of accountability and myopic government policies have been the reasons due to which not only does Pakistan suffer hours-long load-shedding, but the soaring petroleum prices have also curtailed its usage as an alternative source of energy. Consequently, the demand for electricity far outweighs its supply. Recently, …

For long, the trickle-down theory has held its appeal for the economists around the world with the countries adopting policy instruments that were generally favourable to big businesses and wealthy elite. The idea governing the preference for this model has been a single-minded focus on achieving growth at any cost; secure in the belief that it will automatically lead to …

The New Great Game, the term introduced by renowned columnist and political analyst Ahmed Rashid in the 1990s, basically revolves around the energy politics in Central Asia being played by some emerging powers. Pakistan’s exceptional geo-strategic location and geo-economic position endow the country with ample opportunities to play a decisive role in the New Great Game because the country is …

What is the difference between a funeral and a demonstration? In Kashmir, there is none. The recent killing of more than 30 civilian protestors by the brute Indian armed forces shows that in Kashmir, every funeral is a demonstration and every demonstration a funeral. Every time people gather in protest against the Indian state — which claims the territory of …

Introduction Part VII of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, deals with the judicature of Pakistan. More often than not, the words ‘judicature’ and ‘judiciary’ are interchangeably used in Pakistan; these are, however, different. Black’s Law Dictionary, one of the most revered resources of the Common Law, differentiates the two as: a.    “Judicature: the action of judging or of administering justice …

Summary The incumbent government’s economic team has failed to achieve GDP growth target for the third consecutive year as overall key targets set for 2015-16 were missed by 0.8 percent due to poor performance of agriculture sector, Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM), food products, engineering products, transport and communication etc. Major achievements of the FY 2015-16 include: picking up economic growth, …

The federal budget for FY 2016-17, which was presented by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on June 3, seems to be a continuation of the status quo with respect to the overall policy reform. However, by and large, it is a good one in the current pressing and depressing economic environment of the country. With a focus on growth and consolidation …