Pakistan has availed International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans on 22 occasions since 1950 in its very short history as an independent nation. The first IMF Agreement came in 1958 when Pakistan was struggling with its balance of payments; its most recent was in 2019 when economic conditions had so worsened that the Imran Khan government…
One of the great tragedies to befall this country was the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer by Mumtaz Qadri in Islamabad on January 4, 2011, bringing into sharp focus one of the important aspects of security that does not get the attention it should, fidelity. A policeman in the security detail provided to Taseer…
Macro-security being the business of the State, micro-security remains the domain of the individuals or organizations. With a citizen requiring the safety and security of his life and that of his family, property and business, etc and the State increasingly engaged in macro-security because of terrorism, private security business has become as an industry in…
A decade or so ago a joint venture foreign (JV) security company was using non-armoured vehicles (known as “soft” vehicles) to transport cash alongwith their armoured vans. Cash cannot be transported in quantity except in armoured vehicles, it is against the law but it costs 4-5 times more to operate an armoured vehicle over a…
Good governance in any society requires the safety and well-being of its citizens, peace and harmony cannot be maintained in isolation by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) alone. Personal security remains the responsibility of the individual, corporate body, establishment, etc in any country of the world. While private security has given significant support to the…
The primary responsibility of the State being to provide overall security for the life and property of its citizens, it is incumbent upon private individuals, property owners and businesses to look beyond the state to private security firms for their own protection. History records “guns for hire”, in effect mercenaries, providing security to the feudal…
A city of more than 20 million people with a gigantic industrial sector, vibrant economic, trade and business activity, Karachi’s sea port is responsible for all maritime security arrangements, sea trade and traffic and a source for ample seabed resources. Known as “the city of lights” through the previous century, with the beginning of the…
Addressing Future Fest, Pakistan’s largest tech conference and expo in Lahore recently, I found myself facing a well informed and technical savvy audience. I took the liberty of speaking about Pakistan and the perception of the situation we are facing, a topic very close to my heart which I felt would also strike a chord…
Pakistan’s largest three-day Tech Conference and Expo titled “Future Fest 2023” kicked off on January 06, 2023 at the Expo Center, Lahore with the Chief Guest President Dr. Arif Alvi, delivering a virtual message, welcoming the delegates and highlighting the great investment opportunities that the budding local tech industry has to offer. Open to the…
A three day Karachi Literature Festival (KhiLF) was held at the Beach Luxury Hotel from Feb 17 to 19. The topic ‘People, Planet and Possibilities’ focused on Pakistan’s current economic and geo-political challenges. Over 200 speakers including many foreigners participated. A conversation was held on February 19, ‘Untangling South Asia’ between Mr. Ikram Sehgal andMr….
