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TWENTY-FIVE IMF programmes, and at least 17 high-powered tax reform commissions, task forces and donor-funded programmes later, the country still finds itself struggling to raise revenue. Once again, another government has announced its intention to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio. The pattern of repeated failure over decades should be a moment for pause and introspection — both for the government and the IMF. The need for additional revenue cannot be denied. Against an estimated tax revenue potential of around 20-22 per cent of GDP, government revenue totals 12.5pc of GDP, significantly below the average for low- and middle-income countries as a whole. Looked at from another perspective, the country is unable to fund its substantial spending needs with regards to public service delivery, ballooning pension liabilities or building climate resilience. Despite the imperative to raise revenue, the country’s tax effort has focused predominantly on a shrinking, already compliant formal sector....

THIS is perfect. The power bureaucracy has decided to go on the offensive against users of net-metering services , and decided to describe them all as a ‘burden’ and tell the rest of the power users in the country that their bills are high because a few are escaping the grid by going solar. And thanks to this misfire, this entirely unnecessary hostility, we now have the perfect illustration of why our country has been sinking into the quicksand of stagnation for so many decades. The central problem is this: as the world changed around them, our bureaucrats were busy trying to save their bureaucracy rather than finding ways to adapt, to keep pace with the change, and better still, to harness the new energies being unleashed all around them. This has been the story of Pakistan’s journey throughout the economic and technological transformations of the past half century. Our bureaucrats have basically succeeded in convincing successive governments that change is to be resisted, and where...

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent comments to an American podcaster regarding the Pakistan-India relationship are detached from reality and reflect a highly selective reading of the history of the nearly eight-decade-old dispute. While the relationship has been marked by great complexity, with mostly lows and a few highs since partition, Mr Modi painted Pakistan as the villain of the piece, with India the innocent victim of Islamabad’s conniving schemes. The reality is quite different. Mistakes have been made by both sides, but in the recent past it has been India that has been resisting Pakistan’s overtures for peace. As the Foreign Office put it, the Indian PM’s remarks were “misleading and one-sided”. Mr Modi seemed ‘hurt’ that Pakistan had engaged in a ‘proxy war’ against his country, and that Islamabad replied to his personal attempts to mend fences with “hostility”. Interestingly, while the podcast appeared to be nothing more than an attempt at Pakistan-bashing and...

• Crossing opened for trucks, critical patients; pedestrian crossings to resume this week • Pakistan, Afghan jirga members stress need to keep crossing open permanently • Local traders believe Pakistan lost $40.5m in possible profits due to extended closure KHYBER: After ten days of hectic shuttle diplomacy spearheaded by tribal elders from both sides, the Torkham border reopened on Wednesday for trade and medical emergencies following an almost month-long closure due to a border dispute between Islamabad and Kabul. The delegates from both sides met at zero point in the afternoon for a brief reopening ceremony, lasting about half an hour. The meeting was followed by the stranded vehicles crossing over to both sides of the border. Ambulances were also parked close to the crossing at the time of the opening ceremony in order to shift the seriously ill Afghan patients to Pakistan, while traffic police hastened to regulate the heavy traffic as frustrated transporters tried to overt...

QUETTA: Three Baloc­h­istan universities have ind­efinitely stopped on-campus classes and asked students to attend virtual classes. The University of Baloc­h­istan, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University and University of Turbat have suspended academic activities immediately. According to sources, the decision has been ta­ken in view of recent att­acks and security threats. The decision came days after terrorists hijacked the Jaffar Express near Sibi. At least 26 hostages, including 18 security personnel, lost their lives in the attack. Since then, multiple attacks have taken place across Balochistan. The decision was taken by university administrati­ons after consultation with deans and heads of the academic departments. A notification issued by the University of Baloch­is­tan said a meeting was co­nvened with the deans and sectional heads, which decided that all campuses will switch to virtual lear­ning until further orders. It offered no reason for the decision. The notif...

Countries, including the United States, cutting down funding for life-saving global health projects could jeopardise vaccination programmes that protect children and adults from deadly diseases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday. The recent abrupt changes in donor budgets and capacity in global health have put a severe strain on immunisation programmes, particularly on measles prevention efforts, at all levels, the UN health agency said. Measles is a highly contagious airborne viral illness characterised by fever and a distinctive rash, which remains a significant cause of death among children globally, according to the WHO. The best protection against measles is through the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine as there is no specific treatment once a person is infected. The WHO recommends two doses of the measles vaccine for all children. The United States is currently battling one of the largest measles outbreaks it has seen in the past decade, with more than...

WITH the security situation in Balochistan and KP rapidly deteriorating, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership must come up with a new plan to effectively deal with all aspects of the respective insurgencies. This will be the main focus of today’s meeting of the parliamentary panel on national security. The in-camera huddle will feature the prime minister and army chief, all four chief ministers as well as cabinet members and representatives of political parties. The threat to national integrity is significant, and this is no time for partisan politics; the state and its institutions must listen to all shades of opinion in order to formulate a holistic counterterrorism and peacebuilding policy. While the TTP-led terrorist campaign mostly affecting KP has been steadily gaining momentum since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul, the separatist insurgency piloted by the banned BLA now appears to have large parts of Balochistan firmly in its grip. This shocking reality was br...