Makeup or mask-up?
Huzaima Bukhari “It’s our hearts and brains that we should exercise more often. You can put on all the makeup you want, but it won’t make your soul pretty”―Kevyn Aucoin One of the basic instincts of human beings, regardless of…
Pakistan: Another FATF Assessment
Abdul Rauf Shakoori & Dr. Ikramul Haq President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), while speaking at the Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting on October 13, 2021, touched on three issues or concerns. He apprised…
Taxes, social services, gender & equality
Dr. Ikramul Haq The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), today [June 24, 2021] launched the Women’s Economic Empowerment Activity (WEEA). This five-year initiative supports the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to promote women’s social and…
Compounding economic crisis of Pakistan
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori Rising need of petroleum and its heavy taxation leaves the common man stripped of his earnings, and renders the lives of the poor more miserable than before, but despite all these,…
Playing the religion card
Huzaima Bukhari “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful”―Seneca Lucius Seneca Essentially religion has been defined as belief in and submission to one superhuman deity or many…
Leaks & challenges
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The selective criteria of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in listing countries with strategic deficiencies are the main hurdles in curtailing the movement of illegal flow of funds. The jurisdictions…
Constitutionalism is the only remedy
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq “A judge is to apply the Constitution according to the principles intended by those who ratified the document”—Robert H Bork, who failed to win confirmation as a judge to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987…
Justice for labourers
Huzaima Bukhari “Give to the worker his wages before his sweat dries”―Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) iriam (Ibn-Majah) If it were not for labourers toiling in the fields, the factories, the works etc., it would not be possible to raise crops, utilise…
Af-Pak & regional realignments
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The peace deal between the United States (US) and Taliban is turning into a nightmare for the people of Afghanistan. Seizure of power by Taliban is resulting in closure of embassies…