Dear Readers, Financial inclusion is the delivery of financial services at affordable costs to all sections of disadvantaged and low-income segments in society. According to the World Bank, around 2 billion people do not use formal financial services and more than 50% of adults in poorest households are unbanked. As of 2017, nearly a quarter…
In 2013, Shoaib Suddle, the Federal Tax Ombudsman investigating Malik Riaz and Arsalan Iftikhar, son of former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to recover of Rs. 119 billion owed by real estate tycoon Malik Riaz in taxes. No surprise that this was set aside by then president, Asif Ali Zardari. The…
After the Panama Papers surfaced it was an even bet that Pakistan would be rocked by revelations about improprieties in many areas, corruption cases would include some of the worst scandals. The difference between corrupt practices at the creation of Pakistan and of today is usually not only mammoth in nature but directly or indirectly…
Initiated in 2014 the Ashiana-Iqbal Project could not be completed mainly because an illegal award increased the cost if the project is initiated now the increased cost of Rs. 40 billion will be borne either by the applicants or by the govt. As Director General (DG) of Lahore Development Authority (LDA) from 2013 to 2016…
During their meeting at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt in 2009, then PM Yousuf Raza Gilani handed over a dossier of RAW’s involvement in terrorist activities to his counterpart, PM Manmohan Singh. The dossier highlighted just how India’s security and intelligence agencies had been using Afghanistan’s soil to train and fund terrorist activities in FATA and…
The definitions of what Hybrid Warfare is are different between the US and Russia, so much so, that the actual tools are different until today as well. The US is the more ‘modern’ or ‘creative’ user while Russia is more conservative and relies more on traditional tools. The US bases its Hybrid warfare on their ideology…
Dear Readers, A continent is commonly understood to be a massive landmass that is surrounded by oceans or seas, so it becomes obvious that Africa, Australia and Antarctica are, for the most part, separate and distinct continents. But nothing separates Europe from Asia to make them two distinct continents as there is, say, between Eurasia…
Dear Readers, When Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e lnsaaf (PTI) took over the reins of govt it faced an abysmal situation, the state of governance, the economy, foreign policy and other areas were in shambles. Governing a country like Pakistan has never been easy even during normal times, faced with extremely difficult times the govt had…
Hybrid Warfare came to prominence in the 21st century, the “Age of Globalization” that has opened up many new technical and communication options and shrunk distances. According to Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz “Every age has its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions.” While fighting…
Two names were recently recommended to the PM for appointment as MD PIA. One was a former MD who had earlier set PIA on the road to destruction and would probably have been lynched by the PIA rank and file, the other recommendation was about someone professionally unqualified for the job, the individual’s major qualification…
