Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Economy on July 1, 2008 | 13 Comments »
In an effort to control the country’s ballooning budget deficit, Pakistan’s government announced “plans to phase out politically sensitive fuel subsidies during the new financial year,” reported the Financial Times today. The news outlet added,
The government spent $2.4bn (€1.5bn, £1.2bn) during the fiscal year that ended yesterday to subsidize domestic fuel prices and protect consumers [...]
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Posted in Backgrounders, tagged Economy, Karachi on June 4, 2008 | 3 Comments »
A friend of mine referred to me a great series conducted by National Public Radio [NPR] this week. Entitled, “The Urban Frontier: Karachi,” Steve Inskeep, from NPR’s Morning Edition, aims to introduce people who are trying to reinvent one of Pakistan’s historic cities. NPR noted about Karachi, “It is a place where so many people [...]
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Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Economy on June 1, 2008 | 1 Comment »
On Saturday, the State Bank of Pakistan [SBP] released its quarterly report, in which it announced that the country’s economy “will expand by less than 6 percent for the first time in five years amid double-digit inflation and ballooning budget and trade deficits.” As a result of both international and homegrown factors, the Bank noted [...]
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Following yesterday’s breaking news story that the coalition government reportedly agreed to “expel” Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf from office, media outlets today reported that the Pakistani military and the Presidency moved to quell these notions. Although The News reported that Musharraf met with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Ashfaq Kayani at the Army House late Wednesday [PST], after [...]
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Infamously controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad paid a brief visit to Pakistan today, where he met with President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in Islamabad during his four-hour stay. According to the Associated Press, “[The] Iranian and Pakistani leaders resolved issues related to a multibillion-dollar [$7.5 billion] gas pipeline project opposed by [...]
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There has been increasing concern growing over the global food crisis, which has affected numerous countries across the world, including Pakistan. This week’s Economist cover story [see attached image] noted, “For the first time in 30 years, food protests are erupting in many places at once.” Our contributor, Abida Mukhtar, a consultant based in Lahore, [...]
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Posted in Contributions, tagged Economy, Textiles on April 17, 2008 | 10 Comments »
There are currently a multitude of major issues facing Pakistan. Of these issues, the economic crises are perhaps the most palpable to the average Pakistani. Below, Abida Mukhtar, a consultant currently based in Lahore, Pakistan, discusses the current problems with the Pakistani textile industry:
The Pakistan textile industry contributes more than 60 percent to the country’s [...]
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Posted in News Briefs, tagged Economy on April 15, 2008 | 4 Comments »
News coverage of the “power riots” in Multan on Monday caught my attention today. Media outlets reported that “several hundred men” marched on the the office of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) to protest power cuts that the city’s textile industry said “was killing business.” Both the Associated Press and The News reported [...]
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