Notes from Pakistan
Where is this money going?
You go anywhere and you face toll plazas every now and then. It seems Pakistan has turned into a toll tax state. Where is this
July 6, 2026
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Who is Mohsin Naqvi? Who made him the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab? Who made him the Federal Interior Minister? Who made him a Senator? Was he not part of the government when he lectured politicians? Who is he to give such lectures? Insensitive and unscrupulous politicians should think, introspect, and ask Mohsin Naqvi where […]
People are waiting for a movement like those in other countries to take place in Pakistan. But we don’t need a movement that devastates and destroys things. Several such political movements and parties have already spread chaos and discord in the country. Pakistan needs a movement that builds, constructs, and unites people.
Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia: Implications and Consequences The defense agreement with Saudi Arabia was not entered into with long-term implications in mind. The hunger for dollars prevailed. Now, just weigh it on the scales and see: In the event of war escalating, how much lighter the country is about to become.
Pakistan itself came into existence as a result of the 1945-46 elections. At that time, the administrators and power-brokers were the British. Bangladesh also came into existence as a result of the 1970 elections. But at that time, the administrators and power-brokers were the Pakistan Army and Pakistani politicians. The difference is obvious!
A mirror to the PML-N’s exemplary governance in Punjab: Crime statistics for Lahore in the first six months of the current year, as reported by Lahore Police: Total criminal incidents: 43,000 Thefts: 28,000 Attempted murders: 249 Murders: 141 Violence against women: 414 Child abuse: 386 Gang rapes: 54 Arrests in various crimes: 29,445
I read newspapers daily without fail — one in Urdu, three in English. On days when an entire page of any newspaper is filled with government advertisements, I feel an inexplicable sense of relief, thinking, “Today, I’m spared from so much news.” If the government were to start publishing ads on every page of every […]
You go anywhere and you face toll plazas every now and then. It seems Pakistan has turned into a toll tax state. Where is this
ہم لوگ جب ایم اے کر رہے تھے، تو وہاں شعبہٴ فلسفہ میں کچھ لوگ اب یا تب یا باقاعدگی سے تشریف لایا کرتے تھے۔
Where did the World Bank get the right to advise on the NFC Award? Has the World Bank become the spokesperson for the federal government?
No more talk about government, corruption, nepotism, and inefficiency. Show us what you’re doing to change the tide. If you’re not, go support someone who
اگر آپ مصنف ہیں اور باقاعدگی سے لکھتے بھی ہیں، تو آپ کو اکثر اس اعتراض کا سامنا کرنا پڑا ہو گا کہ آپ بہت
In 2007, before coming back to Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto paid a visit to the USA. An American think tank requested a meeting, and when the
Who gave the government the mandate to mediate? The question is, did the parties forming this government get votes to turn their backs on the
The experts on TV and in newspapers recommending taxes on every item should themselves be taxed at 100%.
The provinces are promoting a tax-free budget, omitting that the federal government has already collected their share of taxes, redistributed through the National Finance Commission.
AI can make mistakes. Yes, that’s acceptable. But when AI concocts stories, that’s absolutely unacceptable. Google AI is doing exactly that.
Annually, the government presents a budget that pilfers from the public purse, while the intelligentsia, particularly economists, subsequently engage in protracted discussions about its implications.
Re Right of the way telecom law Has the state of Pakistan lost its mind and thinking? Or has it deliberately abandoned them? And has
From the very first day, false narratives lured this nation into a world of fantasy. More to it, most people believed in those narratives as
As per a Daily Jang report and a claim by the FBR chairman, in US-dollar terms Pakistan tops 78 larger economies in tax collection.
ابھی کوئی ہفتہ بھر گزرا کہ مجھے فیس بک پر وقاص احمد کا پیغام ملا جس کے ساتھ ایک لنِک لف تھا، اور عنوان کے
The centre has no authority to question the provinces on how they spent their share from the NFC. This authority rests with the citizens of
پہلے قابل ٹیکس ماہانہ آمدنی قریباً 67 ہزار روپے تھی۔ اس بجٹ میں 50 ہزار روپے کر دی گئی۔ 50 ہزار روپے میں تو وزیر
پہلے قابل ٹیکس آمدنی 8 لاکھ روپے سالانہ تھی۔ اس بجٹ میں 6 لاکھ روپے کر دی گئی۔ یعنی اگر کوئی فرد 50 ہزار روپے
یورپی نشاة ثانیہ 14ویں صدی سے 17ویں صدی پر محیط ہے۔ اٹلی اس کا مرکز رہا اور انسان پسندی بنیادی قدر۔ یورپی روشن خیالی کا
When there is no market of ideas, and there is no competition between ideas, how can people progress intellectually?
Recently, I put down my views regarding the National Finance Commission Award that were processing in my mind since 2017. When I shared this piece
It just feels pathetic and I fear the day when all these cards, schemes, projects, packages, etc., will collapse like a house of cards!
The taxes people pay are being used to make them dependent on government handouts. This creates a vicious cycle.
جو خود فراڈیے ہوں انھیں دوسروں کو فراڈیا کہنے کا کوئی حق نہیں۔ مگر پاکستان کی سیاست اسی حمام کی کہانی ہے۔
پریس اور میڈیا کے لیے اخلاقیات جتنا ناگزیر تھی، پریس اور میڈیا نے اخلاقیات کو اتنا ہی زور سے لات ماری۔ خس کم جہاں پاک۔
معصوم خطاکار، نواز شریف نہ سیاست چھوڑیں گے نہ اس میں سرگرمی دکھائیں گے۔ بیچ میں لٹکے رہیں گے۔ مگر جب عام انتخابات کا ڈول
[توجہ: یہ نوٹ فیس بک پر حُسن الامین کی دو پوسٹوں سے تحریک پا کر لکھا گیا۔] جب کسی معاشرے کی بے بسی اور بے
پہلی شخصیت سر سید احمد خان (1898-1817) ہیں۔ سر سید نے یورپ کا صرف ایک سفر کیا۔ 1869 سے 1870 تک۔ وہ یکم اپریل 1869
آج ہم بھائیوں اور ہمارے بچوں نے بڑی عید کی نماز صبح صبح پانچ بج کر بیس منٹ پر اسی جگہ پڑھی جہاں بہت سالوں
Age is just a number. Whether one is a young adult or an older person does not matter and endows one with no special privilege.
وضاحت: یہاں ذیل میں جو گفتگو کی گئی ہے، وہ کُلی و نوعی اعتبار سے صرف اور صرف دنیاوی اقالیم سے تعلق رکھتی ہے۔ زیرِ
In the 1980s, one of China’s export items was the magazine China Pictorial, also published as چین باتصویر in Urdu. It was mailed free to
ابھی 16 مئی کو الطاف حسن قریشی کی وفات ہوئی۔ خبر پڑھتے ہی ذہن کے پردے پر ایک روشنی جھلکی۔ یہ روشنی ’’اردو ڈائجسٹ‘‘ کا
78 برس ہو گئے ہیں اور پاکستانی پریس اور میڈیا حکومتی سبز باغوں کی فلم چلائے جا رہا ہے اور سیاست دانوں کی وہی رٹی
Bureaucracy, technocracy, diplomats, and their ilk first serve the government. That is, the Riyasati Ashrafiya first enjoy perks, privileges, junkets, and salaries extracted from the
1st National Tax Payers Convention 15-16 May, 2026 Islamabad “If the excise officers come and sit at the door of my factory, I will set
پنجاب میں سیاست کا خاتمہ ہو جانا چاہیے۔ کیونکہ یہاں ہر مسئلہ حل ہو چکا ہے اور پنجاب میں جنت نظیر گورنینس کا دور دورہ
The summit: Trump and Xi could bargain over not supplying arms to Iran and Taiwan, respectively. Apparently they didn’t. That would be a real partnership
ایک منشیات بنانے والی اور منشیات کا دھندہ کرنے والی ڈان سے پہلے ایک وکیل شادی کرتا ہے، اور پھر ایک پولیس افسر۔ باقی کون
An intellectual disease wherein one is engaged in an endless series of analyses of political developments without bothering oneself about the resolution of the issues
From day one, Pakistan has been a cursed country. Whose curse is it suffering from? The Politicians’.
No need to… absolutely no need to hear or support what the opposition says about the government. They did exactly the same things while they
وزیر اعظم پاکستان جناب شہباز شریف آپ کو یہ اختیار نہیں کہ لوگوں کے ٹیکس کے پیسے کو گرینڈ حیات کے فلیٹ مالکان میں بانٹیں۔
There’s an iron curtain set between the people and the Riyasati Ashrafiya, the real owners of the state of Pakistan. No information, that is, grievances,
