Dr. Ikramul Haq According to a Press report, the 9th National Finance Commission (NFC) “died its natural death …after the Centre and four provinces could not reach consensus on a new award for distribution of fiscal resources during the five-year constitutional term”. It was the fifth NFC since 1973 that unsuccessfully ended without consensus on...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “I have gained from philosophy: that I do without being commanded what others do only from fear of the laws”—Aristotle While driving in Lahore Pakistan, you stop at a red traffic light because that is the law but you notice that the motorcyclist next to you turns his head right and left probably...Read More

Dr Ikramul Haq In the most difficult times arising out of Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown, all over the world the governments are going for relief packages and tax incentives to mitigate the financial toll faced by all, especially the poor and the weaker segments of society. On the contrary, our politicians, technocrats and bureaucrats sitting...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “Unbeliever is he who follows predestination even if he be Muslim. Faithful is he, if he himself is the Divine Destiny”—Allama Muhammad Iqbal Sialkot in the province of Punjab in Pakistan is an industrial city that is famous for manufacturing and exporting sports and surgical goods. According to ‘The Economist’ the city stands...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, in a Press conference on April 3, 2020, thinly attended by journalists (after the bitter experience of March 24, 2020 of critical questioning on many issues rather than on Rs. 1.2 billion relief-package unveiled that day), announced relief/stimulus package for the construction...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq As mentioned in the last column [Tax bailout for economic revival, Business Recorder, April 17, 2020], all businesses—badly hit by lockdown in the wake of Covid-19 epidemic and due to sluggish economic activities, high utility bills and markup rate—are demanding a comprehensive bailout. They are critical of loan facility...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “Good intentions and grand theories do not make a good programme. Programmes work best when they’re based on a detailed understanding of the problem and how they are implemented on the ground”—Abhijeet Banerjee Every day we come across someone telling us that although behavior of such and such person is harsh or rude...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq According to various Press reports, all businesses in Pakistan, as elsewhere, badly hit by lockdown in the wake of Covid-19 epidemic, are demanding a comprehensive tax bailout claiming that loan facility announced by State Bank of Pakistan to pay salary/wages should not carry any mark-up as in the near...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq Much before Covid-19 outbreak, the widening income and wealth disparities were highlighted in these columns with solutions to bridge the growing rich-poor divide, but no government paid any heed. During the rule of General Pervez Musharraf [October 12, 1999 to August 18, 2008], a report by Centre for Research on Poverty and...Read More

Amnesty, tax breaks & multiple reliefs Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, in a Press conference on April 3, 2020, thinly attended by journalists after the bitter experience of March 24, 2020, announced what is termed by official quarters as a “comprehensive relief/stimulus package” for the construction sector—also...Read More