Daily Articles

Like the Tulip Mania of the early 17th century and countless other speculative economic bubbles, Bitcoin underwent a major correction last week after reaching an astounding 19,850 US dollars earlier in December of last year. But what really is Bitcoin? And why is it the talk of the town? What is Bitcoin? It would be fair to say that most …

What is in store for the country is unpredictable in view of the complicated and conflicting global and domestic policies How much the strategies of global powers can affect the wave of militancy in the country is too difficult a question to answer. But it cannot be ignored completely knowing the presence of Nato forces in the neighbouring country and …

We need to make 2018 the year when we actually revive our trade with our neighbours The past few months have seen a decent uptick in Pakistan’s merchandise exports. The first five months of 2017-18 have seen exports grow by 10.5 per cent over the same period during previous fiscal year. The November 2017 monthly export data indicates a growth …

FOREIGN policy is an aspect of national policy. If national governance is dysfunctional foreign policy cannot deliver. This is because no coherent political framework for a successful foreign policy will be available. This is the norm in Pakistan. As long as Pakistan’s military-intelligence complex (the ‘deep state’) overwhelms civil and political society in terms of per-capita resource allocations, strategic perceptions, …

In November 2016, after the approval of cabinet, Pakistan had decided accede to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. On 22 December 2016, Pakistan deposited its instruments of Accession to Hague Convention and became the 96th contracting State to the Convention. The Convention came into force for Pakistan on 1st March 2017.The Convention provides a structure to …

Some historical facts outlining the status of tribal areas While fate of the constitutional reforms on Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) hangs in balance, the latest salvo in opposing the much-delayed reforms for the tribal region came from none other than Mehmood Khan Achakzai, chief of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. Achakzai has repeatedly used ‘azad’ incorrectly for tribal areas …

In 2017, the country’s economy remained hostage to political economy considerations and different socio-political developments “Highest GDP growth was recorded in a decade, Pakistan’s economy is flourishing; there is no problem of debt retirement” and “Economy is in bad shape, there is a need to declare financial emergency; Pakistan would require $35 billion in next 12-18 months”. Above are the …

Amidst the tense international political environment, the first six-nation Speakers’ Conferencein Islamabad was a welcome move. The moot discussed the challenges of inter-regional connectivity and terrorism. Representatives from Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan attended this crucial conference which called for establishing a joint mechanism to cope with the challenges of terrorism besides promoting inter-regional connectivity. It is interesting …

THE impact of the biggest overhaul of the US tax code in three decades will spread far and wide starting next year, highlighted by a cut in the corporate rate to 21 per cent from 35pc, fully allowable deductions for capital expenses and lower levies on repatriating overseas profits. Here’s how the law will most likely affect various industries: Real …

IT has finally been officially confirmed that Pakistan is considering using the Chinese currency for bilateral trade. At a weekly media briefing on Dec 21, Foreign Office spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan and China “will actively use bilateral currencies for the settlement of bilateral trade and investment (transactions) under the relevant arrangements”. In response to a supplementary question, he …