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ISLAMABAD: As the federal IT minister is all set to present the new Cybersecurity Act 2025 for establishing an independent National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA), fundamental questions remain unanswered regarding funding, institutional coherence, and the inherent tension between security and telecom companies. The government has stated that new secure digital infrastructure will be built under the World Bank-backed Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP). This strategic choice prompts a key question: why is a World Bank-funded project (DEEP), focused on digital public services, being positioned as the backbone for a national security…

KARACHI: The global economy is undergoing a seismic technological shift. Robotics, automation, and AI are no longer futuristic ideas, they are now mainstream drivers of productivity, competitiveness, and innovation. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), the industries worldwide deployed over 553,000 new industrial robots in 2023, marking a historic peak in automation demand. Meanwhile, global AI investment is projected to exceed $300 billion by 2026, as estimated by the International Data Corporation (IDC). The world is accelerating rapidly, but Pakistan risks being left behind unless decisive and strategic…

LAHORE: The post-war Bretton Woods system was based on exchange rate stability, where the Official Development Assistance (ODA) was used to provide necessary development finance to the developing countries. The system ran successfully during the 1950s and 1960s, when developing economies achieved high rates of capital accumulation. However, the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s brought a turn in development finance, where private international finance started to take a driving seat. The private turn in international development finance has changed the international financial architecture. Under the…

ISLAMABAD: Was the launch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government about a decade ago a blunder? This question arises when we look at the current situation. Pakistan and Qatar have recently reached an understanding to divert 24 LNG cargoes, meant for Pakistan in 2026, to other destinations. The government claims it will save Rs1,000 billion. The same stories had been heard in 2015 when the PML-N struck an LNG import deal with Qatar. It was claimed that the country would save $1 billion…

KARACHI: “Only Pakistan’s stock market is booming.” This is the line echoing across business circles still recovering from a decade of painful economic stabilisation. And yet, the KSE-100’s rise from the low 40,000s to nearly 170,000 – over 300% return in just a few years – cannot be dismissed as a coincidence or speculation. It is fuelled by a combination of deep liquidity, capital market reforms, resilient corporate profitability, strong dividends, and a valuation base so low that blue chips were trading at 3x price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios. But this naturally…