The Pakistan Experience

Nayab Gohar Jan is a social activist, leftist and one of the organizers of Aurat March Lahore. She has recently joined PPP.   Dr. Minahil Asim is an Assistant Professor of Education Leadership and Program Evaluation at the University of Ottawa. She studies education reforms and policies that are focused on improving learning outcomes and educational trajectories for disadvantaged students.  Preh Memon is a content creator and a writer; she has a keen eye on the social issues of Pakistan and often writes about them.   The four of us get together for a discussion on why political reform is difficult in Pakistan.  The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience                And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience                The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.                                  Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89         Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 3:15 Why did Nayab join PPP? 6:00 Why PPP has lacked in Implementation? 9:00 PPP; Feudalism and rural politics 13:00 Perception of PPP/PMLN and Bureaucracy in Punjab 23:00 Why do you see more development in Punjab? 34:00 Sindh and PPP's performance 44:00 Local Government and Political Will 48:00 Why Political Reforms are difficult 1:13:00 Establishment impeding political reform 1:19:00 Evolution vs Revolution; is gradual progress worth sacrificing ideals? 1:30:00 Debates within the party? Is it a one man rule? 1:38:30 Overseas Pakistanis  1:44:00 Degrading National Discourse and Misogyny 2:08:30 Trauma of growing up in the 90s in Pakistan

On Tuesday evening, a fire broke out at Mekaal Hasan's iconic Digital Fidelity Studios in Lahore that led to its wreckage. Friends and fan of Mekaal are doing a fundraiser to raise funds to rebuild the studio. Please contribute: gofundme.com/f/rebuild-dfs  Mekaal Hassan, Haniya Aslam, Omran Shafique and the Takatak boys come on for this special live fundraiser where they share their memories of the Digital Fidelity Studios in Lahore, talk about their musical journeys, creating communities, safe spaces and discuss music.   The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience                And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience                The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.                                  Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89

Asad Ali Toor is a Pakistani journalist and vlogger. He currently reports from the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He has also worked as a producer for the Aaj News.   Asad Ali Toor comes on the podcast to discuss the recent arrest of Imran Riaz Khan, the fascism of the state, PTI, PDM, Journalistic ethics and intelligence agencies approaching journalists.   The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations.  Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience         And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience         The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.                  Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89      Chapters:  0:00 Imran Riaz's arrest and PTI's response 4:00 Asad Ali Toor's case 7:00 Asad Umer and Military's control of PTI 9:45 Abhi walay bhi toh selected hain 11:45 Being labelled a Jiyala or a Patwari 14:!5 Why don't you support PTI's stance? 18:00 Civilian Supremacy and Military Intervention 20:00 Journalists working for the Establishment 23:00 Meeting judges and journalist ethics 30:00 Youtube Journalism and a journalist's credibility 38:00 Hearsay, Sources and Evidence in Journalism 48:00 Difference of opinion in the Institution 50:30 Sexism, choice of words and being cancelled on Twitter 59:30 Attacks on Journalists and Being gaslighted online 1:08:00 Conspiracy Theories and Tourism

Ali Aftab Saeed is a journalist, content creator and a musician.  Tamkenat is a doctor and a content creator.   The three of us get together for our first episode in the new studio - this was bound to be epic.    The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience    And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience    The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.          Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89

Who is responsible for the current crisis? Is it PTI or is it PMLN?  What will it take to get out of this mess?  What is the Supertax? Is it a good thing or a bad thing?  We often talk over each other, rather than talking to each other.  We don't even bother listening to the other side, we read/watch to argue, not to understand, not to see where they are coming from.  Social media makes enemies out of all of us. This is why I invited a staunch PTI Supporter, a staunch PML-N supporter and a public policy expert to actually debate the things we are all talking about on social media with some actual nuance as opposed to calling each other biased, youthiyas and patwaris.  Uzair younus is director of the Pakistan initiative at the Atlantic council, a dc-based think tank, and host of the podcast pakistonomy.  Bilal Lakhani is a columnist for Express Tribune and a recipient of the James A Wechsler Award for International Reporting. Supports PTI.  Mustafa Bajwa is a public sector strategy and operations consultant. Supports PML-N.  The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience  The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.      Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89  Chapters:  Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 4:00 Framing the current crisis 8:00 The November appointment and the Vote of No Confidence 21:00 Did PML-N want immediate elections? 33:00 The Privilege of PTI Supporters 44:00 PMLN's biggest threat is from the army 51:00 Asad Umer 54:00 Supertax: What is it? Is it good? Is it bad? 1:08:00 The need for hard decisions and political capital 1:27:00 Politial consensus and the elite status quo 1:35:00 Political Instability and Anti-military politics 1:50:30 Zardari 1:56:00 Peoples Questions

One of Pakistan pre-eminent economists and the founder of BISP, Dr. Kaiser Bengali, joins us on The Pakistan Experience to break down Pakistan's political economy and what stops economic reform in Pakistan.   On this deep dive podcast, we discuss IMF, the current crisis, the defence budget, Bhutto's nationalization, Zia-ul-Haq, economic reform and protectionism.  Do we have any options but to go to the IMF?  Is IMF evil?  Who stops economic reform in Pakistan?  What will fix our economy's structural flaws?   Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.     Kaiser Bengali is an economist with over 40 years of experience in teaching, research and policy advice in Pakistan and abroad. He has a master’s in economics from Boston University, USA, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. He has taught and conducted research at prestigious institutions in Pakistan, such as the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC), University of Karachi, Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science & Technology (SZABIST), and was Managing Director of the Social Policy & Development Centre (SPDC), Karachi.     The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience      And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience        The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.              Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89         Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Was IMF Pakistan's only option and lack of planning 5:45 What stops economic reform? 9:45 Ayub Khan and Bhutto's Development 11:30 Military Dictatorships and Political Economy 17:00 Bhutto's Nationalization 24:00 18th Amendment: Is the problem the Provinces or the Center? 28:30 Pakistan can't increase revenue in the short run 32:30 Privatization 40:00 Is the IMF "neutral" and will Pakistan go bankrupt? 46:00 Foreign Ownership of Enterprises and Investment 49:00 Pakistan has a narrow base of economy and lack of Value Addition 54:00 What Kaiser Bengali did in the Government 59:30 Three Major Structural Flaws in our Economy 1:06:00 Unsustainable Growth and Elite lobbies 1:10:30 Government Intervention and Agriculture 1:15:30 Stock Market 1:18:00 Hyperinflation and Devaluation 1:22:00 Petrodollars trap and IMF's micromanagement 1:24:50 State Bank Autonomy 1:27:50 The people need to protest 1:32:50 Differences with Ishrat Hussain

Imaan Zainab-Mazari Hazir, an activist and a lawyer, comes on the podcast to discuss the recent harassment her, and her family, faced at the hands of the state. We discuss the missing persons issues and the remedies that the law provides.   On this deep dive podcast we discuss State Fascism, the role of the judiciary, what our politicians and bureaucrats should do, the inaction of our mainstream parties and the law.   The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.   Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89      Chapters: Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:00 Privilege and Fascism 6:30 Silence on Balochistan 11:00 Judiciary and the Missing Persons issue 14:00 Mainstream Political Parties not doing anything on Enforced Disappearances 23:50 The Legal Process and remedies 36:30 Twitter Toxicity 46:30 Musharraf 50:30 Qazi Fes Isa 52:00 Peoples Questions

Can the Mainstream parties bring about change?  How to unite the Left?   Why are Pakhtuns and the Baloch protesting?  Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience with Ismat Raza Shahjehan.  Ismat Raza Shahjahan is a socialist-feminist political leader from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is the president of Women Democratic Front, the deputy general-secretary of the Awami Workers Party, and a leading member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement  The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience    And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience    The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.        Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89     Chapters: 0:00 State's fascism against protestors and the Mainstream Parties 11:00 Changing the system: Revolution vs Evolution 22:00 The system co-opting narratives 28:00 The Left in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 36:30 PTM 41:30 Identity Politics and Fractures in the Left 58:30 Uniting the Left 1:05:00 Peoples Questions

How would you explain the budget to a 5 year old?  Shahrukh Wani is an economist at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government working on urban and economic development. He is also a columnist on economic policy in Pakistan with articles published in Dawn, The News, among others.  Shahrukh comes on the podcast to break down the federal budget for 2022-2023. Does the Federal budget even more?  Is the budget only there to get the IMF payment?  Will Pakistan default? Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience  The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.     Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89   Chapters: 0:00 Budget 2022-2023 for dummies 7:00 Direct cash transfers 13:45 Tax on Property 27:08 Relief for salaried class and expanding the tax net 41:30 How much does the Federal Budget matter? 48:30 Peoples Questions 51:10 Dollarized Debt 53:15 Are we headed for a global recession? 55:30 Pakistan kay constraints siyaasi hain 1:01:00 Pakistan won't go bankrupt 1:02:00 Export Industries, Value Additions and Protectionism 1:11:00 Budget leaking to the media 1:02:10 How India dealt with their forex issue 1:14:10 Is IMF evil? 1:19:00 Q&A Session

Ammar Khan is an economist, analyst and a consultant.   Ammar comes on The Pakistan Experience for a detail discussion on the Pakistani economy, the economic reforms we need and why we are where we are.  How to combat elite capture?  Why is Petrol 209 rupees?  Can Pakistan refine Russian oil?  Was Daronomics bad?   Find out this and more on this week's episode of The Pakistan Experience.  The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience  And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience  The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications.     Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89   Chapters: 0:00 Polarization 1:30 Why is Petrol 209 rupees? 6:30 Civilian Governments being too vulnerable to make economic reform 11:30 Child Labour 17:00 Can Pakistan refine Russian oil? 26:30 Should the Government set fuel prices? 28:00 Direct Cash Transfers and Subsidies 29:30 Middle Class and De-incentivizing investment 36:30 How to manage capital reallocation 47:00 Economic Growth Indicators  56:00 Daronomics 58:30 Elite Subsidies and Amnesties 1:03:00 Debt and Public Infrastructure  1:05:00 Kab roti hogi sasti 1:06:30 Judging PTIs Economic Performance and IMF 1:16:00 Long Term Pakistan's Economic Policy 1:17:20 Defence Budget 1:20:20 Why Pakistan won't become Sri Lanka 1:24:30 Hyper Inflation 1:25:30 Pakistani start ups, fintech and banking apps 1:30:50 Book recommendations 1:32:50 "Neutral" Economic sources and Polarization 1:36:00 Is there any hope?