Trading Manufacturing for Middlemen
In essence, Pakistan is slowly trading the sturdy engines of industry for the sparkle of middlemen’s markets.
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In essence, Pakistan is slowly trading the sturdy engines of industry for the sparkle of middlemen’s markets.
Every algorithm, no matter how advanced, is bound by the limits of its own instruction set.
When consumer giants shut down local operations, it shows something is deeply wrong.
It is also estimated that taxes paid by corporations amounted to Rs2.5 trillion, with only a small 0.5pc of corporates contributing 81pc of total corporate taxes paid.
By adopting a smart wheat stockpile policy inspired by Singapore’s rice model, coupled with a free market for imports and exports, Pakistan can achieve genuine food security while safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods.
Real progress will come only when the government steps back, the ministries and regulators coordinate, and private players are trusted to do what they do best, deliver efficiency through competition.
Pakistan’s power sector also suffers from high levels of corruption due to governance issues. Public engagement through proper communication regarding the privatisation of the power sector is essential.
Over the past several months, an alarming refrain has begun echoing across Pakistan’s economic and policy circles: “Multinationals on the Exit.” What once seemed inconceivable – leading global corporations scaling down, divesting, or altogether pulling operations from Pakistan – is
For many Pakistanis, last mile delivery platforms are no longer just a source of convenience but an important source of livelihood.
As consumers, we continue to buy the most expensive, locally assembled cars, while the government continues to collect heavy taxes on the product. Both the corporate and the state reap benefits at the cost of the average citizen.
Groups lobbying for specific interests in Pakistan have perpetually demanded protection from foreign competition and government support to ensure their survival, remaining comfortable with the status quo rather than striving for improvement in the overall business environment.
Unfortunately, this truth is very hard to explain to our politicians and bureaucrats because their livelihood depends on their not understanding the truth.
These examples demonstrate that effective storage integration requires both technology and market design reforms, an area that the Pakistan electricity system still needs to address.
Contrary to government rhetoric, Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio is not that abysmal in regional terms (easily enhanced by Feudal taxes).
Overhauling the tariff structure will benefit the industrial sector, as it will not only ensure access to cheaper unfinished and capital goods but also reduce the time-consuming and costly documentation procedures and processes associated with international trade.
Karachi, in the end, is not defined by monsoon rains, but by how governance continuously fails to repair its cracked systems.
Pakistan stands at a critical juncture. The Indus watershed is not just a water network; it is the foundation for life, agriculture, energy, and heritage. Yet mismanagement, weak institutions, and unchecked encroachments have turned it into a recurring source of
Therefore, we should be focusing on creating an open competitive modern economy that can quickly acclimatise to the fast-transforming global economic environment.
The rising number of motorcycles on Pakistani roads has become one of the biggest challenges for traffic management and has made road users more vulnerable to fatal accidents.
We already possess the resilience, critical mass and potential for change. The question is not what to do, but how to do it. It will take a generation, but we must begin.
Russia’s renaissance is proof that supply-side economic reforms and the flat tax works.
The prime minister belongs to a business family of the private sector. Would he tolerate if one of his organisations was constantly going into a loss?
Only in June this year, over 6,000 papers were printed, photocopied, distributed, filed and mailed to various government departments to notify four Eid holidays…
Donors, consultants, and the market operator have put in years of work. Yet, five years later, the market is still not there.
True cause of decline is poor governance, ignorance and pro-private sector policies.
Meaningful liberalization of the energy sector must be based on dismantling the Uniform National Tariff in both power and gas.
Welcome to the Land of the Pure, where we’ve institutionalised the exact opposite: a Reverse Robin Hood. We’ve built a system that extracts from the poor and middle class to protect the privileges of the powerful.
Let’s make room for youth, respect the wisdom of age, and build institutions where tenure is limited, performance is rewarded and experience is rechanneled, not discarded.
But agriculture—the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and the mainstay of rural livelihoods—barely grew at all, recording a paltry 0.56% increase.
There is such all-around uncertainty in the air that even money under the pillow cannot be considered yours because any fairy could claim it.
A slow, corrosive theft of citizens’ wealth. Rs100,000 in 2014 now holds less than Rs30,000 of real purchasing power.
For those of us who call this magnificent coastal metropolis home, Karachi will always be Roshnion ka Sheher – not just for the electricity that powers our lights, but for the undimmed spirit of its people that truly makes this
While Microsoft stated the move was part of a broader global restructuring towards artificial intelligence and regional consolidation, the local business community viewed the decision as a reflection of Pakistan’s deteriorating appeal for international firms.
And now, quietly but credibly, Pakistan has its own such institution: a dedicated credit guarantee company with a long-term AAA rating from PACRA, one of fewer than a dozen financial institutions in the country to receive this distinction.
Whether this is method or madness will become clearer in the next 12 to 24 months. But one thing is certain: the stakes are rising along with the electricity bills, and Pakistan cannot afford to get this transition wrong.
The message is clear: stop blaming the dollar or the IMF. The rupee’s weakness is a mirror of our own failures. It’s time to demand better: better governance, smarter policy and a relentless focus on productivity.
The actual policy failure lies in the restriction on free trade.
Economists and academics continually seek innovative tax ideas. Led by international financial institutions (IFIs) and their consultants, the prevailing goal in many studies is to tax everything in sight.
And to remind ourselves: this is not about sugar but justice. Because in this country, sugar is no longer a commodity. It is a crime.
While individual successes are often celebrated as strokes of genius, economists increasingly agree that entrepreneurship is seldom a solo endeavour. The romanticised image of the lone maverick entrepreneur, they argue, is largely a myth.
Only by removing ad hoc interventions and empowering market forces can Pakistan build a sustainable wheat economy—one where all stakeholders have a fair stake and where food security is driven by efficiency rather than distortion.
With over 200 million consumers, Pakistan has the scale to attract major global investments — but only if markets are open, predictable, and driven by merit.
The industry doesn’t need special subsidies or fancy schemes. Just fix the tariff structure. Because what’s brewing in Pakistan right now isn’t just coffee-it’s potential.
Strong regional and trade connectivity can act as insurance against war, conflict and poverty. India and Pakistan together share the burden of 27% of the world’s poor. One out of every four poor inhabitants of the planet lives here.
In March this year, the Competition Commission of Pakistan issued an emphatic statement that it would take ‘strict action’ against ‘cartelisation’ in the sugar industry.
This vision of a paperless, frictionless business registration process aligns with global best practices and has the potential to revolutionize how businesses are created and operate in Pakistan.
Unless Pakistan decisively reforms its power sector, it risks killing the national grid by its own burden – and taking other sectors with it.
It will come as a surprise to many that the intellectual origins of supply-side economics can be traced to the 14th-century Muslim philosopher Ibn Khaldun.
It is also important to know that the average time — from a child showing signs of distress to a healthcare visit — is eight to 10 years. Neglect is another risk factor.
Whenever the IMF pressures Pakistan to increase tax revenues, the most convenient method for the government is to impose higher taxes on imports. However, a well-established economic principle states that higher import duties act as a tax on exports.
The state’s appetite for assimilating private businesses was evident as early as 1956 when parliament passed a law to take over Orient Airways, renaming it Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Professor: I have many talents, but going back on my words is not one of them. Hence, there is no chance of me forming a government in Pakistan, even if it were miraculously offered to me.
The government of Pakistan is in the business of buying, selling, and losing trillions of rupees fast and burdening the citizens with ever higher taxes. The government of Pakistan is in the business of buying and selling electricity. It has
All the politics is about collecting and spending taxes; but unfortunately, that reality does not translate into political issues in Pakistan. What it translates into is power-politics pure and simple! See the arrogant issueless politics of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf; see the
Chowdhury Bashir Arain, a trader from Khairpur, exports over 99 per cent of his dried dates to India via Dubai. Delivery takes up to 40 days. The long-winded route for Pakistani chhuaras to India via Dubai started in February 2019
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The Libertarian Pakistan initiative is supported by the Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME), a think tank based in Islamabad.