In recent months, a striking comparison has emerged in South Asia. Two neighbouring countries — Pakistan and Bangladesh — both faced external sector pressure, dollar shortages, and IMF oversight. Yet the outcomes have been noticeably different. The contrast does not lie in geography, population, or resources; rather, it lies in governance, discipline, and policy consistency....
i.The Alchemy of Categorization: From Enforced Disappearance toAdministrative AbsenceThe Indian state’s strategic shift from documenting “enforceddisappearances” (a crime against humanity under international law) to“missing persons” (an administrative category implying voluntary absence orcriminal victimhood) represents a masterclass in bureaucratic violence.The Rajya Sabha data—7,151 “missing” in 2023 alone, with 4,190 remaininguntraced—obscures a deliberate epistemic operation. By reframing...
Pakistan today is not merely facing an economic slowdown; it is confronting a dangerous economic direction. The federal government’s total public debt has reached nearly Rs. 78,529 billion — a figure so enormous that it restricts fiscal independence and weakens national decision-making. A major portion of national revenue is now consumed in debt servicing alone,...
Note to Readers — Tarkeen-e-Watan News Around the world, many of the challenges faced by societies — particularly in developing countries — cannot truly be understood unless we first understand the systems behind them. One of the most important of these is money and capital: how it is created, who controls it, and how it...
In 2025 alone, nearly 4,000 medical doctors left Pakistan to work abroad — the highest number ever recorded in a single year, according to analysis based on Bureau of Emigration data. This alarming exodus comes at a time when the country’s healthcare system is already under severe strain. With a population exceeding 240 million, Pakistan...
For decades, Pakistan has relied on a single centralized competitive examination as the primary gateway to its higher civil services. Conceived during the colonial administrative framework, the system was originally meant to produce a small group of generalist officers who would maintain law and order and manage routine revenue administration. At that time the state...
An economy does not collapse in a single day. It weakens gradually, sometimes silently, until the consequences become painfully visible in the daily lives of ordinary citizens. Pakistan today is not merely facing inflation or currency depreciation; it is confronting the symptoms of a structurally broken economic system — one in which production declines, industries...
In April 2025, following the tragic Pahalgam attack, India’s Cabinet Committee on Security took a step that threatens to unravel one of the most resilient achievements of international cooperation in South Asia: the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). By holding the 65-year-old agreement in “abeyance” and vowing to divert waters to Rajasthan, New Delhi has not...
In Pakistan, political rivalry increasingly extends beyond parliament into police stations and courtrooms. After almost every change of government, FIRs are registered, investigations are reopened, arrests are made, and political leaders face imprisonment. Whether allegations are valid or not is a matter for the courts; however, the repeated pattern has produced a damaging economic consequence....
The halal food economy has quietly become one of the fastest-growing sectors in global trade. What was once considered purely a religious dietary requirement has now evolved into a major international industry. Halal today is not just about religion—it also encompasses food safety, hygiene, traceability, and animal welfare standards. As a result, multinational companies and...
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