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Conversations on issues of development policy in Pakistan and the rest of South Asia. Political economy subjects that are seldom featured in the media will be taken up.
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Mr. Hashim J. Bakht, Finance Minister, Govt. of Punjab
Mr. Zafar Masud, President & CEO, The Bank of Punjab
Mr. Salim Raza, Former SBP, Governor & Member
Mr. Kazim Saeed, Pakistan Agriculture Coalition
Mr. Zafar ul Hassan, Chief Macro, Ministry of Planning
Dr. Abedullah, Chief of Research, PIDE
Mr. Sayem Ali, Chief Economist, The Bank of Punjab
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Former Ambassador, Asif Durrani, Former Ambassador of Pakistan to UAE and Iran, Senior research fellow at IPRI.
Brigadier Agha Ahmed Gul, SI(M), Retd, CEO BTTN (Balochistan Think Tank Network).
Major General Muhammad Samrez Salik, HI (M), Retd, Former DG ISSRA National Defense University, Pakistan Army.
Dr. Mir Sadaat Baloch, President Balochistan Council for Peace and Policy.
Jeffery A Stacey, National Security and Development Consultant, Managing Partner, Geopolicity Consulting Group.
Fahd Husain, Resident Editor & Columnist for DAWN NEWS.
Amer Zafar Durrani, CEO, Reenergia and Paidartawanai.
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Shehzad Ghias, Comedian & Podcaster
Akbar Chaudry, Comedian & Musician
Younis B. Azeem, Comedian & Writer
Shehrzade Noor, Comedian & Activist
Mavra Bari. Comedian, Sociologist & Writer
Sehar Tariq. Comedian & Feminist
Comedy is a multi-million dollar industry the world over, with artists selling out arenas such as the TMobile, O2, and MGM Grand on a regular basis – events that hundreds of thousands attend to let loose, share a laugh, and just have a good time. In Pakistan, this phenomenon seems to have slowly been pushed out of the mainstream over the years, particularly after the political turmoil of the 1980s. This webinar aims to initiate a discussion on the potential of comedy as a driver of joy, shaper of culture, and catalyst for socioeconomic prosperity – and to debunk myths surrounding the topic, including the notion that those who engage are fools, misfits, heretics, incompetents, etc. Comedy has historically served crucial purposes, including as a tool for challenging the status quo, for bringing definition to societal values and norms, and for creating a platform upon which a variety of arts – including theater, music, film, and storytelling – can all come together to captivate audiences that can forget about their troubles for a while. How can Pakistan facilitate its comedians, especially in a time of disruptive digital media technologies that are reshaping the landscape?
PIDE Social Media Forums:
www.facebook.com/PIDEislamabad
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, Former Secretary, ECP
Sarwar Bari, Spokesperson, FAFEN
Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President/CEO, PILDAT
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Dr. Tariq H. Cheema, Country Representative, Alight Pakistan
Dr. Zahid Majeed, Director Academic Planning, AIOU
Mr. Abid Gill, Deputy Chief Advisor, JICA-AQAL
Mr. Adnan Ahmed, Vice President Content & Fundraising, Teach the World Foundation
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Thursday Oct 07, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Wednesday Jul 14, 2021
Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 09:00 PM
Speakers:
Faisal Haque, Virtualizing Services by offering Internet for All
Khalid Raza, Network options for Universal
Ahmed Shahid, Using 5G as last mile optionor
Dr Suuhail Chughtai, Deploying Telemedicine in Pakistan
lmran Qureshi, Virtual Education in Pakistan
Wednesday Mar 31, 2021
Wednesday Mar 31, 2021
Moderator: Dr Nadeem Ul Haque, VC, PIDE
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/DBvj5GzMGDd1TWnf9
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 07:00 PM (PST)
In a significant move, the federal cabinet approved amendments in the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Act in the name of central bank autonomy, price stability and accountability. The benefit of central bank independence is well documented in the literature. However, there is a dire need to evaluate several important questions:
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Tuesday Mar 30, 2021
Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haque
Chair: Abdul Razak Daood, Adviser for Commerce and Investment, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan
Presenter:
Ahmed Waqar Qasim, Research Economist, PIDE
Saddam Hussain, Research Economist, PIDE
Discussant:
Gohar Ejaz, Patron-in-Chief, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association
Khadija Malik Bari Assistant Professor, Institute of Business Administration, Islamabad
Aqdas Afzal, Program Director, Social Development & Policy Program, Habib University.
The economic significance of the textile sector in Pakistan is undeniable. The sector contributes around 60% of the export earnings and provides employment opportunities for around 40% of the total labor force. In the textile sector, energy cost is the leading component in terms of conversion cost. Among all the factors that make the textile sector of Pakistan regionally un-competitive, energy tariff is at the core. The recent outshining performance of the textile sector can partially be attributed to the regionally competitive energy tariff (RCET) policy that the government has adopted, since late 2018. The current webinar entails to launch a report prepared by PIDE along with the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) aims to evaluate how the regionally competitive energy Tariff policy is contributing towards getting the textile sector regionally competitive.
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Monday Mar 29, 2021
Moderator:
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Guest Speaker:
Ayesha Razzaque (Educationist/Researcher/Consultant)
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 11:00 AM (PST)
"Ayesha Razzaque has a doctorate and a Masters degree in Educational Administration from the College of Education, Michigan State University (MSU). She holds an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from UET Taxila.
Ayesha benefits from 10+ years of experience supporting education development in a variety of social and political contexts, specifically in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She writes, op-ed pieces, regularly for the “The News International” and has been following and writing on the ‘Single National Curriculum’ since 2018."
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Wednesday Mar 24, 2021
Saturday, March 20, 2021 at 06:00 PM (PST)
Guest Speaker: Mr. Najam Sethi, Author, Journalist, Political Commentator & Chairman of PSL
Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haq, Vice Chancellor, PIDE
Cricket Leagues have become one of the raging phenomena across the globe. The existing scholarship asserts that such professional leagues provide profitable avenues for players, governments, boards, public and investors. Among the determinants of growth of sports industry are identified public interest, attraction of celebrities, sponsorship of multinational companies and returns on investment. Also, the revenues generated from sports constitute significant determinant of growth of sports industry.
Following this tremendous growth in the sports industry on global front, cricket leagues are turning into more institutionalized and professionalized avenues for economic growth. Pakistan Super League (PSL) is the most visible manifestation of interest in the cricket league in the country. Set against the backdrop of burgeoning sports industry (with a focus on cricket leagues) as an avenue for generating growth, economic value and employment in Pakistan, the current webinar entails to:
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Monday, March 15, 2021 at 10:00 AM (PST)
Chair:
Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation and Chairperson BISP.
Moderator:
Dr. Nadeem Ul Haq, VC, PIDE
Speakers:
Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSRC), Government of Pakistan, in alliance with Provincial Governments initiated a healthcare intervention titled the Sehat Sahulat Program. The objective of this program is to lead a path towards Universal Health Coverage in Pakistan and to grant easier access and free-of-cost healthcare services to the poor. The program, implemented in 91 districts of the country, includes Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jamu and Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, Newly Merged Districts of KP and District Tharparkar, Sindh. The program also claims to cover 9 million families. The program’s horizon is extended to include individuals with disability and transgender persons registered in NADRA and has special CNICs.
In the wake of examining the efficacy of this program, PIDE intends to conduct a webinar based on following objectives:
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Thursday Feb 25, 2021
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 at 07:00 PM (PST)
Moderator:
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Speakers:
Ms. Anum Malkani, Director Policy Advisory, Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP)
Mr. Asad Beyg, Executive Director/Founder, Media Matters for Democracy & Media Lab
Mr. Aftab Alam, Media Law Specialist & Policy Expert
Mr. Bilal Gilani, Executive Director, Gallup Pakistan
Dr Huma Baqai, Media Analyst &Anchorperson
Media plays a critical role as opinion-shaper in Pakistan. The burgeoning forms of media in the form of electronic, print, and social media, shape national narratives about politics, society and culture. Also, with respect to economy, the role is becoming more pronounced when factors such as commercialization, advertisements, political economy, TRPs, media as an avenue for culture industry, and digitization are brought into light. In the light of this debate, the current webinar is an attempt to:
1. Understand Pakistan’s media economy (Media industry numbers in revenue, Media measurement tools in the past and in present and what media generally covers?)
2. Explain functional regulatory and legal frameworks of media economy in Pakistan.
3. Articulate if Pakistan’s media content, especially televised contents reflective of socio-economic and political realities prevalent in the country, or not.
4. Reflect on the quantity vs. quality control of electronic media in Pakistan.
5. Decipher if there is political economy dimension through which media economy can be understood.
6. Understand the process entailing TRPs of televised contents in Pakistan.
7. Respond to a question, “Is media economy politicized in Pakistan?”
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Monday Feb 22, 2021
Thursday, February 18, 2021 at 07:00 PM (PST)
Speakers:
Dr. Azra Raza (Cancer Specialist and Researcher)
Dr. Samia Altaf (Public Health Specialist)
Moderator: Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Dr. Azra Raza is the Chan Soon-Shiong Professor of Medicine and Director of the MDS Center at Columbia University in New York. Previously, she was the Chief of Hematology-Oncology and the Gladys Smith Martin Professor of Oncology at the University of Massachusetts. She is considered an international authority on pre-leukemia (MDS) and acute leukemia.
Dr. Raza has published her original clinical and basic research comprising over 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high profile journals like Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, Cell, Molecular Cell, Cancer Research, Blood, Leukemia. She has published >1000 abstracts, dozens of book chapters and edited a book devoted to MDS.
She is a sought after speaker in scientific circles and the recipient of numerous awards including The Hope Award in Cancer Research 2012 (shared with the Nobel Laureate Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn). She was named as one of the 100 Women Who Matter by Newsweek Pakistan. Dr. Raza is a member of the Founder Group designing Breakthrough Developments in Science and Technology with President Bill Clinton and met with Vice President Joe Biden to discuss the Cancer Moonshot initiative at his residence at the Naval Observatory in 2015.
She is the author of The First Cell: And the human costs of pursuing cancer’s last published by Basic Books, October 2019.
In addition to her scientific accomplishments, Dr. Raza is a dedicated reader of Urdu literature, the co-author of GHALIB: Epistemologies of Elegance.
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
Tuesday Feb 16, 2021
Moderator:
Dr. Durre Nayab, Joint Director PIDE
Book Author:
Dr. Anita M. Weiss
Discussants
Raza Rumi, Policy analyst
Saba Gul Khattak, Political scientist
Yaqoob Khan Bangash, Historian
This book identifies and analyzes the impact of the various ways in which local people are responding, taking stands, recapturing their culture, and saying ‘stop’ to the violent extremism that has manifested over the past decade (even longer) in Pakistan. Local groups throughout Pakistan are engaging in various kinds of social negotiations and actions to lessen the violence that has plagued the country since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan which let loose a barrage of violence that overflowed into its borders. In so many ways, Pakistanis are engaging in powerful actions that transform how people think about their own society, impeding extremists’ rants while acting on ‘envisioning alternative futures’.
This book, hence, focuses on finding the sparks of hope that local people are creating to counter violent extremism based on close ethnographic study of ground realities about not only what people are doing but why they are selecting these kinds of actions, how they are creating alternative narratives about culture and identity, and their vision of a future without violence. This book is also designed to celebrate what is flourishing in cultural performances, music, social activism, and the like in Pakistan today because of people’s commitment to take stands against extremism.
Biodata
Professor Weiss received her doctorate in sociology from UC Berkeley and is professor of International Studies at the University of Oregon, where she has taught since 1988. She has published extensively on social development, gender issues, and political Islam in Pakistan. She was in Pakistan extensively between 2016-19 conducting interviews for this new book, including six months on a Harry Frank Guggenheim research fellowship; Professor Weiss stepped down after seven years as Head of the Department of International Studies to conduct this research in Pakistan. She is a member of the editorial board of Globalizations as well as a number of journals from Pakistan, has been a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Pakistan National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), and has been Treasurer and Vice President of the American Institute of Pakistan Studies. She was a Distinguished Speaker at the PSDE Annual Meeting in 2002.
Endorsements for book
Anita Weiss, a prolific expert on Pakistan for some 40 years, has written a “must read” groundbreaking book on the role of religion and the exponential increase of religious extremism in Pakistan. Based on exhaustive on-the-ground research, she provides a unique window on how and why people have responded to and what they have done and are they doing to stop the spread of violent extremism. (JOHN ESPOSITO, Professor, Religion & International Affairs and Islamic Studies, Georgetown University; Founding Director, Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding, Georgetown)
Anita Weiss brings to the fore the voices of Pakistanis who have long struggled to counter extremism, intolerance, and terrorism in all its forms. Going beyond the urban areas, she has located people and organizations in smaller cities, towns, and rural areas, where change is happening daily. The diversity of approaches of these change makers is exhilarating: from the non-violence of Bacha Khan to the science focus of the Zoya schools, the stirring and resilient emerging Pashto and Sindhi poetry, to the urban initiatives in art for peace and open spaces. Making a strong case for a hopeful and forward-looking Pakistan, Weiss has certainly opened an important avenue of study. (YAQOOB KHAN BANGASH, Director, Centre for Governance and Policy, ITU, Lahore; Founder, Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest, Pakistan)
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Our particular focus areas will be:
1-Should the use of SROs be only confined to formulation of procedures for implementing a tax law/laws?
2-If the SROs allowing tax concessions were eliminated, would it not hurt those sectors which are currently benefiting from them?
3-Is it true that SROs are a source of promoting a culture of rent-seeking?
4- Can we find any positive results of SROs in any area like promotion of any specific industries, lowering the burden of taxation on social sectors or boosting exports?
5-We would love to see examples of useful and harmful SROs? Economic impact of industry wise concessions, specific user concessions? Their impact on domestic industry?
6- Does SRO culture make genuine commercial importers and SMEs uncompetitive?
Moderator: Dr Nadeem ul Haq (VC. PIDE)
Panelists/Speakers:
Ikram ul Haque (Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Managing partner Huzaima & Ikram)
Robina Ather (Chairperson, National Tariff Commission)
Manzoor Ahmad (Ex Ambassador, WTO)
Gonzalo.J.Varela (Senior Economist, World Bank)
Zahir ud Din Dar ( CEO Dartways) .
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Feb 11, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 7:00 PM (PST)
Moderator:
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Panelists:
This is the first webinar of the series focusing on the issues attached with the ‘State Owner Enterprises’, or the ‘Public Sector Enterprises’.
Management of Public Enterprises (PEs/ SOEs) globally is a challenging task. Large number of countries both developing and developed, have confronted serious issues in improving the performance of their public enterprises. There have been several experiences of bringing these enterprises at par with their “counterparts in private sector”. However, there were more failures than successes. Keeping in view the low level of operational efficiency and magnitude of complexities Prime Minister of Britain Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s promoted a program to privatize. Subsequently, during the next few decades privatization policy was adopted by large number of countries. Some of them have been successful in privatizing substantial part of their public enterprise sector. Perhaps the greatest success was in East Europe where large number of PEs were successfully privatized. Privatization policy was also adopted by number of West European and Afro-Asian countries but here the results were mixed.
Continued Importance of PEs:
In the recent years it has been noted that despite all the privatization public enterprise sector continue to be substantially large. The “Economist” of January 11th, 2014 included an expose on the role and size of public sector on the global scene including the OECD countries. It stated” Taxpayers might think that the best family sliver has already been sold, but plenty is still in cupboard. State Owned Enterprises in OECD countries are worth around €2 trillion” However, it was added that if minority stakes in companies dealing with public sector utilities and other assets such as buildings, land and sub-soil resources are taken into account public enterprises in rich economies are worth €35 trillion across the OECD countries. Similar share of public sector role is noted in other countries. It was, therefore, concluded by the Economist “All of which points out to a huge opportunity for governments to sell or sweat more assets and by doing so reduce fiscal stress”.
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 7:00 PM (PST)
Moderator
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Panelists
1. Arif Hasan
2. Dr. Naveed Iftikhar
3. Samna Sadaf Khan
Pakistan currently houses some of the largest cities in the world. It has about 20 cities with populations of above a million. Karachi and Lahore are among the twenty-five mega cities in the world. This rapid urbanization is accompanied by congestion, pollution, mobility issues, shortage of housing and other utilities and sprawl. Pakistan also has 40 percent of its urban population living in
slums. There is clear shortage of urban public spaces, libraries, office and commercial spaces, and sustainable urban transportation. Our cities are not inclusive either. People living in slums, and street hawkers face a constant threat of eviction. Urban planning in Pakistan has not kept pace with the changes brought about by rapid urbanisation. Pakistani cities lack the vigour and dynamism of a
modern, productive, competitive cities. Future of the countries are in the cities hence they should be better managed. In this webinar, we will learn from speakers how cities can do it right and how we can improve our current cities.
Points to Ponder
• What will be the needs of a future city and anticipating challenges of the future?
• With rising urban population and more challenges ahead, how cities will provide equity to
all?
• How future of the mobility will look like?
• Streets provides vibrance to the city economy, with rise of e-commerce and delivery service,
how the landscape will evolve eventually.
• Some cities around the world are taking matters into their own hands, circumventing
regional and federal government for better and effective legislation, generate their own
funds and future strategies. What can we learn from these cities?
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Thursday Jan 28, 2021
Tuesday, January 19, 2020 at 7:00 PM (PST)
Moderator:
Dr. Nadeem ul Haque (VC PIDE)
Panelists
1. Nadeem Khurshid
2. Dr. Nausheen H. Anwar
3. Dr. Murtaza Haider
All major cities in Pakistan are in the process of reviewing and updating their master plans. Our cities spend resources and time developing masterplans to lock themselves and their cities into a predetermined path of growth and lifestyles. When life does not adjust to these preordained plans for their life, cities and their residents end up in years of strife with encroachments happening
involving lawsuits and law enforcement. Cities try to grow and modernize but planners go to the extent of destroying buildings with court injunctions only because they are a couple of feet taller or longer than allowed by stringent regulations. Yet the push for master-planning continues across Pakistan hoping to keep cities frozen for long periods of time from 15-30 years. Having seen a boom
after the second world war, master plans are increasingly seen as a thing of the past. Reasons for this disillusionment are many:
Points to Ponder
• Master plans are forward-looking, laying the building foundations of a city for the coming twenty years. However, they rely on the present as well as past data to project future demand for infrastructure and public utilities. Little do the planners realize that these
projections are often faulty.
• In Pakistan, master-planning seems to be an inside job between planners and builders who know them. Public participation in the planning process is often perfunctory or non-existent. These plans, therefore, are never owned by the community nor do planners recognize the needs of the people.
• Master plans are often based on unrealistic assumptions about the proposed economic potential of the area as well as the requirements of the population.
• Master plans are static in nature, made at one point in time by a select few which makes them irrelevant fast and it’s the city dwellers who end up having to face all the ills of that planning.
• There is little flexibility built in to evolve the plan and move the city forward. They are often not updated on time, leaving room for vested interests to intervene and change rules in their favor.
• Master plans seem to dictate how markets should develop leaving no room for them to find their own level. It is thanks to master planning that we see a shortage in several areas in our cities.
