The events of May 2nd and 21st have left the nation embarrassed and demoralized. The challenges arising as a result thereof may compound Pakistan’s existing problems. Many find it difficult to search for beacons of hope within the myriad of problems at a time like this. Within this context, this comment is an attempt to […]
Regulation and 18th Amendment
As one of the key instruments of governance, regulatory functions have increasingly been in the spotlight, subsequent to the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Regulation can take many forms but in the current context it refer to interventions initiated by the government to correct market failure, or the use of state power to impose constraints on organizations […]
Soliciting inputs—Health and the 18th amendment
The Implementation Commission of the 18th Constitutional Amendment, in its recent session, has taken the final decision to devolve the Ministry of Education. The next round of deliberations will decide the modalities of devolving another set of ministries, including the Ministry of Health (MoH). My comment in these columns on December 25, 2010—the Vanishing Ministry—outlined […]
Doctors’ movement
Young doctors in the largest province of the country are on strike for the 17th day running. With revolutionary fervor from the lawyers’ movement and the Middle Eastern revolutions shaping our societal political culture, it seems that the movement is having a snowball effect. An increasing number of young doctors, groups and associations are galvanizing […]
Non-communicable diseases: evidence-policy disconnect
World Bank’s report ‘Tackling Non-communicable Diseases in South Asia’ made headlines in Pakistan, yesterday. This is an important subject and its significance should be appreciated by policymakers. The report highlights the magnitude of burden attributable to a set of diseases, widely prevalent throughout all countries of south Asia—diseases which are linked by common risk factors, […]
Operation polio
The drive to eradicate polio in Pakistan has recently been marked by four positive developments. First, acknowledgement by the government that the country now runs the risk of becoming the last remaining reservoir of endemic poliovirus transmission in the world. Second, the US $ 17 million direct pledge for polio eradication in Pakistan by the […]
Agenda setting
The government and opposition factions appear to be converging on a ten-point Agenda focused on eliminating some of the currently prevailing governance distortions in Pakistan. Articulated as a set of “Demands” by one particular opposition party, the points have been endorsed by others and have been admirably embraced by the incumbent federal government. The ten-points, […]
2011—risks and resilience
At the recent meeting of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum in Dubai some of the top issues in the global risk landscape and their possible mitigates were highlights. Ironically, a few of us from Pakistan could relate to most systemic risks as being endemic to our sovereign environment, each of them […]
Case of the vanishing ministry
The Implementation Commission of the 18th Constitutional Amendment is due to present its final recommendations to the Parliament for approval next week. Statements issued in the run up to that have already indicated that subsequent to abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List, a number of subjects, inclusive of health, education, rural development, population planning, social welfare, […]
The PDF premise
Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) 2010 was convened at a time of unparalleled challenges—with several macroeconomic issues, a grinding fiscal crunch, competing priorities for resource allocations, an energy crisis, ongoing war, relentless insurgency, and an unprecedented need for resources in the aftermath of the worst disaster on this planet in recent history, characterizing the country’s needs. […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- …
- 14
- Next Page »