In the final episode of 2020, Uzair talks to frequent guests Ammar Khan and Ariba Shahid about how 2020 turned out for Pakistan's economy, unresolved issues, and the outlook for 2021. Thank you to all of you for tuning in this year. I will be taking a break for the next couple of weeks and a new season of the show will be back in early January, 2021.
Uzair Younus talks to a Bangladesh-based economist about the keys to Bangladesh's economic transformation. Syed Yusuf Saadat, Senior Associate at the Center for Policy Dialogue, is an economist with deep expertise is in assessing economic policies and has done research for several international organizations, including the UNDP. Yusuf is also co-author of the book titled “Youth Employment in Bangladesh—Creating Opportunities, Reaping Dividends” published by Palgrave Macmillan.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the global economy on its knees, leading to mass unemployment and a dramatic slowdown in economic activity. The Indian economy, which was already showing signs of weakness before the pandemic, has now entered a recession. At the same time, concerns over India's illiberal turn, its refusal to enter trade agreements, and poor implementation of flagship programs have led some to argue that India is missing a once in a century opportunity. Uzair Younus spoke to Aman Tha...
Pakistan's exports have been a chronic issue and in the last few years, an overvalued exchange rate dramatically accelerated the decline in the country's exports. But exchange rate is only one of several issues that have made Pakistan's exports uncompetitive. In this episode, Uzair Younus spoke with Dr. Gonzalo Varela about why Pakistan's exports have fared poorly and how this can be changed. Dr. Gonzalo Varela is a Senior Economist in the Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice of ...
In this special episode, Uzair Younus speaks to Farieha Aziz about the new social media rules that have been approved by the government. These rules have raised serious objections from ISPs, digital rights activists, journalists, and other organizations in Pakistan. Uzair asked Farieha why this has caused an uproar and the potential impact of these rules on free expression in Pakistan.
Pakistan is about to experience another winter of gas shortages. Meanwhile, the LNG sector continues to cause confusion among citizens, with baseless claims of corruption and backroom dealings sowing doubt among many in Pakistan. In this episode, Uzair Younus talks to Laure Baynes Clarke about the LNG sector, how it operates, and its potential in Pakistan. Laure is a General Manager and part of Shell’s global leadership team that manages its global LNG portfolio. She comes with a wealth of exper...
Fintech has played an important role in promoting financial inclusion, formalizing the economy, and accelerating economic growth around the world. Pakistan, however, has struggled in efforts to ensure that a significant part of the country's population has access to formal financial services. To talk about how this ecosystem is being developed in the country, Uzair Younus spoke with Nadeem Hussain, Founder of Planet N. He also founded Tameer Micro Finance Bank, Pakistan’s first private sector mi...
Millions of dollars a year are made in collecting, sorting, and recycling waste across Pakistan. But this sector remains largely informal, leading to a whole host of issues, including the use of child labor, sexual abuse and exploitation, and criminality. Ahmad Shabbar is someone who has been on a mission to change the way the system works in Karachi. He is the Founder and CEO of GarbageCAN, an organization providing comprehensive waste management to several schools, festivals, and businesses; r...
Uzair Younus talks to Ammar Khan and Shahrukh Wani about the latest FBR data which shows that markets in Karachi - Jodia Bazar and Saddar in particular - pay significantly more in income taxes than markets in the rest of Pakistan. Despite that, Karachi has poor infrastructure and public service delivery. The guests share their views of why this is the case. You can read the article written by Ammar Khan on this topic here - https://www.samaa.tv/money/2020/09/karachis-saddar-jodia-bazaar-pay-more...
In this Urdu discussion, Uzair Younus talks to Ahmed Majid Warraich, a Faisalabad-based entrepreneur in the agriculture sector. Uzair talked to Ahmed about the reasons for higher food inflation, his experience in modernizing farms, and what needs to be done to uplift this sector which employs almost 40 percent of Pakistan's labor force. Ahmed is currently growing Sugarcane, Wheat, Maize and various orchards. He has converted around 100 acres of his land to drip irrigation – all powered through S...
The Role of Dynasties and Caste in Politics In a previous episode of the podcast, Dr. Adil Najam made a very important point that underneath all divides in Pakistan is the class divide. That is a very important point and one could argue that this divide is anchored by the caste divide in the country, particularly in Punjab and Sindh. However, both caste and class are absent from the daily political and economic discourse in the country. To talk about this issue, Uzair hosted Dr. Hassan Javid, wh...
Food inflation is breaking the back of households in Pakistan. Despite repeated warnings about a food crisis, the government has been unable to control rampant inflation. The price of wheat and flour has been rising at a rapid pace. To understand what is going on, Uzair talked to Adil Mansoor, who has deep insights about the wheat market and how it functions.
The War on Free Expression In recent weeks, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has been on a banning spree. However, the issue is structural and the powers being used by the PTA were given to it through PECA, a legislation passed in 2016 by the PML-N government. In this episode, Uzair Younus speaks with Farieha Aziz about the war on free expression in Pakistan, Digital Pakistan and its future, and what message is being sent to international investors and technology companies by the actions...
Gas Crisis Update - Urdu In this special Urdu discussion, Uzair speaks with Ammar Khan about the ongoing gas crisis and the recent cargos being bought by Pakistan. The price is now higher than the long-term Qatar contracts signed by the PML-N government and Uzair asked Ammar to explain what that means.
What's Going On, Pakistan? Ariba Shahid returns to Pakistonomy to talk about recent developments in the country. We talked about PTA bans, inflation, gas shortages, business optimism, and much more. This is a break from our usual in-depth conversations, which will return next week.
Many people within and outside Pakistan often say that if only Pakistan had a stronger narrative, the country would do much better. But the reality is much, much different. In this discussion, Uzair Younus spoke to Ejaz Haider about his recently published article in The Friday Times, titled Selling the Narrative. Ejaz Haider is Executive Editor at Indus News and was the News Editor at The Friday Times. Uzair and Ejaz talked about why the issues facing Pakistan need to be addressed by addressing ...
Uzair Younus has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Adil Najam about polarization, generational shifts in Pakistan, climate change, and much more. Dr Najam needs no introduction. He is the inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University which was founded in 2014 with a generous gift from BU alum Frederick S. Pardee. He is also a Professor of International Relations and of Earth and Environment. Earlier, Prof. Adil Najam served as Vice Chancellor of the L...
Karachi is already facing power shortages due to supply constraints of gas. Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of another crisis in the winter months of this year and the next. And as expected, the issue has fallen victim to partisan politics. To talk about this issue from a non-partisan perspective, Uzair spoke to Samiullah Tariq, Head Of Research And Development - Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company. At the heart of the issue is the price of natural gas and for as long as the price doesn't r...
The world is quickly moving towards renewable energy sources. In Pakistan, less than 5 percent of the country's energy comes from renewable energy (excluding hydro power). To talk about how the country can promote renewable energy and whether ending the grid as we know it is feasible, Uzair Younus spoke to Shazia Khan. Shazia Khan is the CEO of EcoEnergy, an environmental lawyer, and off-grid energy expert. She began her career as a consultant with the World Bank, working with the Global Environ...
We often hear about the unity of the ummah and how that drove progress. But this idea is poorly, if at all, understood by most people. The reasons given for the rise and fall of Muslim civilization often do not meet the test of history and rigorous analysis. In this episode, we are going to try to understand the causes of its dramatic rise and sustained decline. To help us understand this complex topic, Uzair Younus spoke to Dr. Ahmet T. Kuru Professor of Political Science at San Diego State Uni...
Understanding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Conversations around the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in mainstream media end up in a “are you a patriot” or “are you a traitor” binary. There is no doubt about the fact that Pakistan has doubled down on its strategic relationship with China in recent years: Prime Minister Imran Khan recently saying in an interview that Pakistan’s future is tied to China. But what is CPEC all about? And how does it fit into China’s overall regional and geopo...
Pakistan is facing a pension crisis which is straining the country’s fiscal resources. In a recently published article for Business Recorder, Ali Khizar wrote that pension spending has gone from “Rs 164 billion in FY 11” to “Rs988 billion in FY21.” To talk about this crisis, Uzair Younus spoke to Ali Khizar and discussed what is going on and why it is important that Pakistan prioritize pension reforms. If you are interested in diving deep into this topic, read Ali Khizar’s articles below: Defusi...
Ethnic cleavages have created unique challenges for Pakistan's political economy since 1947. Since the passage of the 18th Amendment, the conversation has changed substantially. To talk about how these issues affect Pakistan's political system and its economy, Uzair Younus spoke with Dr. Farhan H. Siddiqi. Dr. Siddiqi is an Associate Professor at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad and has done in depth research on ethnic issues in the country. If you liked this episode, please share it on ...
Stocks Make a Comeback (Urdu) The KSE-100 has been rallying in recent weeks, increasing optimism among investors about the prospects of Pakistan's economy. While the stock market is not fully indicative of the real economy, it provides us with insights about where the economy is headed and the sentiment among investors. To talk about this ongoing rally, Uzair Younus spoke with Bilal Moon. They talked about whats driving the recent momentum, why foreign investors have been net sellers, and what r...
Renegotiating Power Contracts (Urdu) Uzair speaks with Ammar Khan about the government's successful negotiations with IPPs and what it means for Pakistani consumers. If you want to dive deeper into this topic, listen to the podcast Uzair hosted with Ammar on the power sector: https://soundcloud.com/tabadlab/pakistonomy-episode-15-pakistans-power-sector
Pakistan has been able to successfully flatten the COVID-19 curve and that has had a positive impact on the economy, with some key indicators turning positive over the last few weeks. Uzair Younus spoke with Ariba Shahid, a business journalist at Profit by Pakistan Today, about this nascent recovery. We also spoke about Karachi's governance challenges, Punjab's chief minister, and her predictions for the next 3-6 months. Views expressed in this video are personal and do not reflect the employer’...
India’s Growth Story: Astute Planning or an Accident? Shankkar Aiyar is a political economy analyst, columnist, and the author of several books, including Accidental India: A History of the Nation's Passage Through Crisis and Change, which is a must-read for anyone who wants to fully understand what it took for India to push through transformative structural reforms. Uzair talked to him about India's reforms, why crises are an opportunity for pushing change, and how COVID-19 creates new opportun...
Careem has transformed mobility in Pakistan and around the world and Junaid Iqbal played a key role in making that possible. In this episode, Uzair Younus talks to Careem's former MD about how the startup was able to succeed, his views on Pakistan's digital payments ecosystem, and a whole lot more. If you liked this episode, please share it on your social media and with your friends and family! Don't forget to subscribe to our channel! Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pakistonomy/ Twitter - h...
A Conversation with Shuja Nawaz Shuja Nawaz is author of The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood. This book is a fascinating account of Pakistan's troubled relationship with the United States and is based on detailed interviews with key US and South Asian leaders, access to secret documents and operations, and the author's personal relationships and deep knowledge of the region. In this discussion, Uzair talks to the author about recent developments in Pakista...
Airlift recently raised $10m in a funding round and has set its sights on transforming Pakistan’s mobility landscape. By provided affordable, safe, and comfortable rides to its users in major cities, the startup is making a big impact. It has also entered the grocery business and its promise to deliver goods to households within 45 minutes is going to fundamentally disrupt e-commerce in the country. To learn more about the startup’s vision and its growth plans, Uzair spoke to Saba Abid, who is G...
