Huzaima Bukhari “We now know that sex is complicated enough that we have to admit nature doesn’t draw the line for us between male and female, or between male and intersex and female and intersex; we actually draw that line on nature”—Alice Dreger They say that it is never too late to learn, a process...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq “The FBR contributes around 80% of the total revenues of the federal government; therefore, any miscalculation or misstargeting can severely cripple the budget, not just of the federal but the provincial governments as well”—Budget 2020-21: Highlights & Commentary, Pakistan Institute of Development Economic (PIDE)    According to FBR Year Book 2018-19, its...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “But there will be no justice, there will be no government of the people, by the people, and for the people, as long as the government and its officials permit bribery in any form”—John Jay Hooker Someone once remarked that in Pakistan it is much easier and faster to get illegal work done...Read More

Avoiding reforms & imprudent policies Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq An unusual decline in revenue collection and steep rise in current expenditures caused a deterioration in all major fiscal indicators during FY19. The overall budget deficit during the year stood at a historic high of 8.9 percent of GDP, which was also in excess...Read More

Over reporting, faulty fixation   Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq In document titled, Federal Budget 2020-21: Budget in Brief, revised version presented by Ministry of Finance (MoF) many days after announcement of federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 on June 2, 2020, the collection of Federal Board of Revenue is overstated and target...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “We still have a soft approach on the perpetrators of crimes like worst forms of child labour”—Satyarthi Kailash If laws and rules of a country are meant to be broken, especially by those who are their authors, champions, the educated, the civilized and the influential, then why have them in the first place?...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq The budgets of Punjab and Sindh for fiscal year 2020-21, announced on June 16 and 17, 2020, respectively, have highlighted a pivotal point that all their projections on revenue side depended on the performance of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)—Revenuecracy, an apt term coined by renowned economist Dr. Pervez Tahir. This is...Read More

Case study of telecom industry Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Pakistan telecom sector contributes steady inflow of heavy tax collections under major heads like Activation Tax, GST/FED, the PTA fee & charges and others. The PTA has been advocating to the government to reduce the tax burden on the sector, which it considers...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq Dr. Ayesha Jalal, eminent historian, in Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia has brilliantly traced the root and dimensions of jihad as anticolonial ideology that helped the subjugated masses under British raj to wage a valiant struggle for independence. The need stressed by great Muslims thinkers, Shah Waliullah,...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Finance Bill 2020, presented along with federal budget for fiscal year 2020-21 on June 12, 2020, contains certain provisions relating to real-time access to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of citizens’ data to be obtained from various institutions that in the absence of private data protection law infringe...Read More