Ep 246 - Budget 2025 is an “elephantine mediocrity”
Jun 13, 2025•41 min
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Summary
Uzair Yunus and Khurram Husain critically examine Pakistan's 2025 budget, labeling it an "elephantine mediocrity" for missing a crucial opportunity to implement bold reforms despite a period of political and economic calm. They discuss the budget's anti-poor bias, particularly regarding solar panel taxation, and delve into how Pakistan's historical ability to extract geopolitical rents from global powers has consistently undermined the political will for sustainable internal economic and social transformation, arguing this pattern will likely continue.Episode description
In this episode, Uzair talks to Khurram Husain about the 2025 budget and what the government got wrong. We also talked about Pakistan’s ability to extract geopolitical rents and how this stunts the reform agenda in the country.
You can read Khurram’s latest column on the budget here - https://www.dawn.com/news/1916673/thrashing-around
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:45 Budget assessment
11:10 Solar power access
20:20 Geopolitical rents and Pakistan
38:40 Conclusion
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