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Economic Survey for 2025-26 arrives at a moment when the country remains caught between cautious optimism and deep structural anxiety. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has presented the latest economic figures as evidence that Pakistan’s economy is finally moving beyond crisis management towards stability and gradual recovery. The government believes the numbers reflect resilience after years marked by political turbulence, inflation, floods, debt pressure and global uncertainty. Yet behind the official optimism lies a more complex reality that deserves both recognition and scrutiny. The headline figure presented by the finance minister — a GDP growth rate of 3.7 percent — is…
By Uzma Ehtasham Pakistan’s economic crisis is often discussed through the language of emergency. Governments speak of stabilisation packages, international lenders demand fiscal discipline, and policymakers promise that recovery is just beyond the horizon. Yet for millions of Pakistanis living with inflation, unemployment and deepening insecurity, the crisis no longer feels temporary. It has become structural, woven into everyday life through rising food prices, stagnant incomes and collapsing public confidence. In this bleak landscape, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is correct to place agriculture at the centre of the country’s economic future. No other sector possesses the same capacity to create…
By Professor Dr. Sheikh Akram Ali The ugly face of India, many in Bangladesh argue, now stands fully exposed before the nation. India was never truly a benevolent friend, despite decades of presenting itself as Bangladesh’s closest ally. A section of Bangladeshi society continues to believe that India’s support played a decisive role in the country’s emergence in 1971, and therefore sees permanent gratitude towards New Delhi as a political and moral obligation. Yet this perspective, critics contend, overlooks India’s controversial and self-interested role at critical moments in the region’s history. According to this view, India supported Bangladesh during the…
By Muhammad Mohsin Iqbal History is often described as the mirror of nations. Within its reflection are preserved the triumphs and tragedies, the wisdom and follies, the achievements and failures of those who came before us. Yet not every image in this mirror is immediately clear. Some reflections are obscured by the dust of time, prejudice, and incomplete understanding. To perceive the truth in its proper form, one must carefully remove that dust and examine the past with honesty and courage. Only then does history reveal itself as an open book from which meaningful lessons may be drawn. No nation…
By Mohammad Obaidullah Mirani On the ninth of June, Federal Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will present the country’s annual report card, the Pakistan Economic Survey. The very next day, on June 10, thick volumes of the annual federal budget will be laid across the desks of the National Assembly. Television screens will fill with economic experts and government spokespersons dissecting numbers such as Gross Domestic Product growth rates and revenue collection targets. Yet behind these glossy PowerPoint presentations lies a bitter reality that neither the political leadership nor Islamabad’s bureaucrats appear willing to confront. When I spoke with…
The geography of power in South Asia has never been determined by armies alone. Ports, shipping lanes, customs privileges and trade corridors have often shaped the political destiny of states more decisively than slogans shouted from parliaments or speeches delivered from military podiums. That reality appears once again to be unfolding in the Gulf, where reports emerging from Dubai indicate that Jebel Ali Port has quietly altered the commercial equation between India and Pakistan in ways that may carry consequences far beyond trade statistics. According to informed customs sources, preferential clearance facilities previously available to Indian exports, particularly textiles, rice…
By Nayat Karim Islamabad, originally conceived in the 1960s as a carefully planned capital for a relatively small population, has expanded far beyond the vision of its original master plan. According to the 2023 Population and Housing Census, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) is now home to more than 2.36 million residents, up from around 2 million in 2017 (Statistics, 2023), reflecting an annual growth rate of approximately 2.8 percent. The wider Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan region now exceeds 5.7 million people (Statistics, 2023), making it one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing urban corridors. The city has expanded from its original planned sectors into dozens…
By Atiq Raja The recent unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has once again brought the region into sharp focus. Reports of clashes between protesters and security forces, resulting in the tragic loss of civilian and security personnel lives, have saddened people across Pakistan and beyond. Every life lost serves as a painful reminder that political disagreements and public grievances should never be allowed to descend into violence. At the heart of the current protests are demands raised by the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) and other civil society groups. While some concerns relate to economic pressures such as…