Furqan Ali

Jan 25, 2025 | thenews.com.pk | Furqan Ali

It was famously said by Benjamin Franklin, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Perhaps Benjamin was unaware of the lagging efficient administration, shallow policy orchestrations, and bad governance, a byproduct of rent-seeking prevailing in our country. Here, businesses and mogul individuals, while conniving with the higher-ups, strive to remain in the grey area to circumvent the certainty of taxation’s axe.

Jan 13, 2025 | thefridaytimes.com | Furqan Ali

“Wonderful fields of flowers were enjoyed. In some places sheets of yellow flowers bloomed in plots; in others, sheets of red (arghwani) flowers in plots, in some red and yellow bloomed together. We sat on a mound near the camp to enjoy the site. There were flowers on all sides of the mound, yellow here, red there, as if arranged regularly to form a sextuple. On two sides there were fewer flowers but as far as the eye reached, flowers were in bloom.

Dec 9, 2024 | thenews.com.pk | Furqan Ali

In its last meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 per cent. Per the MPC Statement, “Taking into account the inherent risks associated with these factors, the MPC assessed that the near-term inflation may remain volatile before stabilising within the target range.”Lo and behold: Pakistan has achieved a year-on-year headline inflation rate of 4.9 per cent, the lowest since May 2018.

Dec 7, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Furqan Ali

“Real power comes not from the barrel of a gun, but from those who control the narrative. Building narratives and sustaining them is part of the effort to control storylines, which in turn help control the world. Narratives are not the truth, rather they nudge you to understand the truth in a particular way.

Dec 4, 2024 | thefridaytimes.com | Furqan Ali

At its meeting earlier this week, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to cut the policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent, effective from November 5, 2024. The Committee noted that inflation has declined faster than expected and has reached close to its medium-term target range in October. The Committee assessed that the tight monetary policy stance continues to play an important role in sustaining the downward trend in inflation.