Economics! Op Eds+Cafe Iqtisaad. Ex U-19 Cricket. Tweets personal opinion. Jets, Gemstones and History. RTs NOT endorsements! Exposing shitbags and scoundrels
Sep 21 • 24 tweets • 4 min read
Thread-'HOME-GROWN' ECONOMIC REFORMS, or how do we reform Pakistan's economy? Pakistan’s policy circles have a tendency to latch onto a particular buzzword, whether it’s ‘strategic depth’, ‘game changer’, or ‘strategically located’. Nowadays, the buzzword is Economic reforms! 1/2
Given the dire straits that Pakistan’s economy finds itself in, a cycle that keeps repeating every few years after the air goes out of consumption fueled balloon, we keep hearing about the necessity of economic reforms. But they never come by, mainly because their application 2/3
Aug 24 • 40 tweets • 7 min read
Thread-Neither is Pakistan’s economy ‘stable’ not has it escaped the perennial NAZUK MOR!About a week ago,I posed this question and tried to elicit public’s opinion.There wasn’t any response,which isn’t a surprise given the obsession with entertainment, politics and charlatans 1/
like jahil qadeem.Whatever scant discussion there is upon Econ, it is fixated upon a few macro numbers (macro fetishism).But..oh well..Additionally, what prompted me to venture forth with this is a response to the propagandist, pedestrian vocations of a Grade-22 Govt servant. 2/
Jan 4 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
This is one of the biggest myths that people easily fall for, i.e, that fundamentalism and 'Islamization' started with Zia. Pakistan was like that from the start! In the early 50s,Lahore had to be put under curfew to prevent violence against Ahamdis. Z.A Bhutto further
inflamed these extremist sentiments by declaring Ahmadis non-Muslims, announcing Friday as a holiday and changing the country's official name as 'Islamic Republic of Pakistan' (it was 'republic' in Ayub's time), etc. So what really happened under Zia? For a start, he was no
Dec 25, 2023 • 33 tweets • 7 min read
THREAD: Addressing Public expenditure fallacies- Recently, two tweet thread by Mr. Rashid Langrial ( and ) serving as Sec Power, brought to fore the issue of Pakistan’s public expenditure again. But I am afraid his contentions are a
bit (if not seriously) misplaced. At first, I ignored these b/c these kinds of questionable arguments appear quite often in Pakistani discourse. But a respected senior asked to me to have a look and comment on it. I’ll briefly break down the issues at stake. The first mistake to
Nov 4, 2023 • 42 tweets • 11 min read
تھریڈ- پلاٹس، مراعات اورپروٹوکول پاکستان اور اس کی اکانومی کو کیسے نُقصان پہنچاتے ھیں؟ کسی بھی ملک کو چلانے کیلیئے ایک انتظامی ڈھانچے کی ضرُورَت ھوتی ھے۔ اس انتظامی ڈھانچے سے منسلک افراد کو سول سرونٹس کہا جاتا ھے جس میں افواج کے افراد بھی شامل ھوتے ھیں۔ لیکن، جیسا کہ قارئین
اندازہ کر سکتے ھیں، یہ کوئی مفت کا انتظام نہیں ھوتا! گورننس کی ایک عالمگیر سچائی/اصول یہ ھے کہ حکومتی انتظام و انصرام چلانے کیلیئے خرچے چلانے کیلیئے اخراجات کرنے پڑتے ھیں۔ چونکہ یہ اخراجات ریاست کے مکینوں کے ٹیکس کے پیسوں کی بدولت ھیں، اسی لیئے گورننس کی کامیابی کا ایک عالمگیر
Aug 28, 2023 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
اس ملک کو چلانے کیلیئے کس قسم کے لوگوں کی ضُرورَت ھے؟یہ واقعہ ملک معراج خالد صاحب مرحُوم سے منسُوب ھے، جو کہ نگران وزیرِاۤعظم بھی رہ چکے ھیں۔ ضرور پڑھیئے- عنوان-" اللّلہ نے دودھ فروش کو نوازا،تو اس کی گردن میں سریا آ گیا" !
بین الاقوامی اسلامی یونیورسٹی، اسلام آباد کے ڈائریکٹر
ملک معراج خالد تھے۔ وائس چانسلر ہی کہہ لیجیے۔میں بین الاقوامی اسلامی یونیورسٹی میں ایم اے انگریزی کے دوسرے سمسٹر کا طالب علم تھا۔یونیورسٹی نے فیسوں میں دو سو فیصد اضافہ کر دیا۔ میں نے ملک معراج خالد کے خلاف ایک مقامی روزنامے میں کالم لکھ دیا۔ میں نے لکھا کہ ایک دودھ بیچنے والا
Aug 15, 2023 • 25 tweets • 4 min read
Short THREAD-IS ISLAMIC ECONOMIC SYSTEM SAME AS COMMUNISM? A tweet today by Taimur Rehman as usual an ill-informed tweet when it comes to Econ and Econ history elicited a response from me whereby I asked him to stick to music and his subject. The 1/2
response did not go down well with many, some of whom thought that the answer does not do any justice and that I need to come up with more(and some went into a needless tizzy).So here are a few quick thoughts.Basically, Taimur’s tweet is a general reflection of how ignorant 2/3
Jun 16, 2023 • 30 tweets • 38 min read
Thread- WILL PAKISTAN DEFAULT OR NOT? Apparently, the biggest topic in Pakistan’s economy, to which everyone seems to have taken a liking, is the specter of Pakistan’s economic default. To be honest, it’s getting a bit boring by now, especially given that this issue has been 1/n
relentlessly dragged since PDM Govt. took over last year.The chances of a default last year, around this same time,were quiet high given the external and internal conditions. But Pakistan staved that off. Suddenly,out of nowhere,the issue has again gained substantial traction 2/n
May 27, 2023 • 22 tweets • 7 min read
Thread-WHAT EXPLAINS THE SHOCKING FALL IN GDP GROWTH?SOME THOUGHTS AND CONSIDERATIONS The announcement of real GDP at 0.29% for this FY set off a tweet storm on the issue. Majority of the commentary,as usual,had little to do with the matter, the issues involved what happened 1/n
to perpetuate such a precipitous fall in GDP from expected 5% at the start of the FY to 0.29%, etc. I’ll try to cut through the clutter, to understand the nuances involved, including aspects hitherto undiscussed. First and foremost, there’s good evidence that the figures are 2/n
May 1, 2023 • 33 tweets • 37 min read
Thread-CAN #India LIKE DEMONETIZATION EXPERIMENT BE DONE IN PAKISTAN? Some thoughts and consideration-This debate has picked up steam after @rogueonomist interview with @Shehzad89 Yesterday,Ammar wrote an article for NEWS on this issue.However, I do feel that before embarking 1/n
on any such experiment (if it does happen), there are various aspects that would need to be carefully analyzed/examined.I lay out these considerations in the following lines. First up, how did the Indian demonetization experiment of Nov 2016 stack up against tis aims?The main 2/n
Mar 18, 2023 • 25 tweets • 37 min read
This figure about India's intended infrastructure expense is being quoted assiduously since yesterday, by Pakistanis, just to shame Pakistan. It again brings us to the point of making fallacious, spurious comparisons that I've pointed out many times. The problem with these 1/2
kinds of comparisons is that they do not take context into comparison! Merely numbers do not tell the whole story. For a start, IMF believes that Pakistan has better roads when it comes to average speed, implying less time to travel (or time saved) 2/3 hindustantimes.com/india-news/how…
Jan 22, 2023 • 38 tweets • 34 min read
Thread-THE END OF SHEHBAZ SPEED AND PML-N’s DOWNFALL The recent constitution of a 15 member ‘austerity’ committee to oversee ‘rationalization’ of expenditures is an indirect indication of the ‘Shehbaz Speed’ and the PML-N train completely derailing of the ideas’ rail.And it’s 1/n
not just them, but the scheming Khalai Makhlooq who again find themselves embarrassed for initiating yet another failed operation ‘change regime’. One would have thought that these mediocre ‘strategists’ would finally heed a lesson after the cosmic disaster of ‘hybrid regime’ 2/n
Jan 15, 2023 • 26 tweets • 5 min read
Thread- CAN RAISING PRICES LOWER THE CIRUCLAR DEBT? My good friend @motasim gets me into a tangle off and on by asking me to comment on various matters. This one was initiated by Govt's decision to substantially raise prices of gas tribune.com.pk/story/2395182/… So here's my brief 1/n
take on a very complex issue. Note that I am covering only the bare essentials and haven't consulted any literature. Its from what I can remember. Have to begin by realizing that circular debt is primarily a political issue and not of pricing! Price is just a part of 2/n
Dec 18, 2022 • 26 tweets • 6 min read
DARONIMCS- Folks, I wrote a thread on why Dar wouldn't be able to do anything some time ago, before Dar landed in Pakistan. Everything bearing out exactly as I predicted. I also did a Twitter space on the same topic. Will put that up too, later. Please take some time out to read
THREAD- CAN DARONOMICS SAVE OUR BLUSHES? Dar’s return has elicited mixed reactions, with observers wondering whether he’d be able to turn things around on the economic front? What follows is a brief thread on the possibilities and challenges. Let’s begin with asking 1/n
Dec 17, 2022 • 37 tweets • 40 min read
THREAD-REKODEK and new Investment Law.Good commentary already.I do feel,though,this all has the making of a classic spy thriller involving greed,utter incompetence,conflict of interest,international competition and Establishment’s dubious footprint. Importantly I bring to fore
the history of how these things unfolded?Rekodek area is located in the ‘Tethyan Magmatic Arc’,home to not only huge mineral deposits,but also (estimated) of ‘rare earth minerals’.Its copper ore tonnage is not only 4 times larger than Saindak, but also bigger than Sarchashmeh 2/n
