Pakistonomy

The situation in Balochistan has been complex for decades starting with the way in which Balochistan became part of Pakistan following independence in 1947. In recent months, the insurgency there has picked pace, but many forget that there are two insurgencies roiling the province. In addition, the economic situation is dire, with citizens facing abject poverty and a continued extractive approach to economic development. This episode is an Urdu conversation with Rafiullah Kakar, a public policy expert based in Quetta. Rafiullah writes a column for Dawn, which is a must-read. You can find his writings here: https://www.dawn.com/authors/8211/rafiullah-kakar Reading Recommendations: - Wretched of the Earth By Frantz Fanon - Justice by Michael Sandel - Islamic Exceptionalism by Shadi Hamid - Remotely Colonial by Nina Swidler

Crypto is going through another winter with prices of all major crypto assets down sharply. There has also been the Luna collapse, which has raised a lot of questions about the future of the crypto and Web3 economy. In this episode, Uzair talks to Salahuddin Khawaja about what's going on in the crypto economy and how is he navigating the ongoing downturn. Salahuddin Khawaja is CEO of Hypermode, a crypto consulting firm - helping clients design, build, grow and transform in Web3.

Pakistan’s economy is spiraling out of control with the rupee hitting a record low on a daily basis. What is driving this crisis and how can Pakistan get out of this tailspin? This episode focuses on the ongoing crisis, with Ammar H. Khan joining the podcast to offer his perspective on what is going on and the path forward. Ammar is a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, and is the Group Chief Risk Officer at Karandaaz Pakistan, a UK FCDO and BMGF backed entity that focuses on enabling access to finance for Small & Medium Enterprises, and digital financial inclusion. Previously, he has worked with the largest asset manager in Pakistan as a Chief Risk Officer, as well as at HSBC in varying roles in sovereign risk assessment, and credit risk. In addition, he has been a consultant to multiple energy projects, from coal mines to LNG power plants, and terminals, with an accumulated ticket size of more than US$10 billion. Having worked in projects across the energy value chain, Ammar has an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of the sector. He tweets at @rogueonomist.

Pakistan's monetary policy has been the focus of attention over the last few years, particularly since Dr. Reza Baqir became governor in 2019. His three year tenure is up, which is a good time to assess the central bank and its performance. In this episode, Uzair talks to Ariba Shahid, a business journalist based in Pakistan, about the highs and lows of the SBP over the last few years.

Uzair talks to Maleeha Lodhi about Pakistan's foreign policy and the repercussions of the regime change conspiracy theory. Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi most recently served as Pakistan's Representative to the United Nations. Previously, she served as Pakistan's envoy to the Court of St James' and twice as its ambassador to the United States.

There has been a lot of talk about a foreign conspiracy in Pakistan, particularly by former prime minister Imran Khan and his followers. While this conspiracy theory is outlandish and has been debunked by many experts, Khan and his followers continue to believe it. But is Khan really standing against up for Pakistan when it comes to pushing back against foreign powers that have exercised influenced over Pakistan over the decades? Or is this just political rhetoric? In this Urdu discussion, Uzair talks to Dr. Ayyaz Mallick about the structural underpinnings of Pakistan's society, politics, and economy and how these structures allow foreign powers to influence the country. Dr. Mallick is a Lecturer at the University of Liverpool and has a PhD from York University. Reading Recommendations: - On the Jewish Question by Karl Marx - The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte by Karl Marx - The Wretched of the Earth by Franz Fanon

A lot has happened in Pakistan over the last few weeks, with Imran Khan's government first creating a constitutional crisis and then losing power in a dramatic late-night vote in the National Assembly. But what does this mean for Pakistan's flawed and floundering democracy? And how should we view this moment in time from a historical perspective? In this episode, Uzair Younus talks to Dr. Ilhan Niaz, Head of the Department of History at the Quaid-e-Azam University, about the impact of ongoing events on Pakistan's political economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic, a once-in-a-century event, caused widespread socioeconomic upheaval in the world. In Pakistan, there were fears that the country would descend into chaos, but the country was able to navigate this crisis without realizing the worst-case scenarios. Credit for this goes to the Khan government and the NCOC, which did an excellent job coordinating the public health response to the pandemic. In this episode, Uzair talks to Maha Rehman and dives deeper into how a data-led approach helped deal with the crisis, and how collaboration across the border in India also played a role. Maha is a data analytics specialist and has almost a decade of experience in designing and executing evidence-based programs, products and policies to improve service delivery and impact. She has also setup the Analytics Wing at CERP that is focused on embedding data in the decisions and operations of private and public sector companies to increase efficiency, impact and profit. Prior to this, she has led research experiments at CERP and at World Bank in the fields of education, public finance and governance.

Uzair talks to Ambareen Baig about the state of Pakistan's startup ecosystem based on the findings of Invest2Innovate's recently released Pakistan Startup Ecosystem Report 2021. Ambareen Baig is a research professional well acquainted with the startup ecosystem in Pakistan. After starting out her career as an educator, she moved on as a Fulbright scholar for a masters in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona (UofA). Other than teaching research methodologies at the undergraduate level at her alma mater, she also served as a Global Ambassador for international students at the UofA. She has worked on youth development projects in Pakistan through the School of Leadership (SoL) where she brought two UNICEF projects to fruition while spearheading SoL’s community space, the Hangout Space. Currently, she is working at invest2innovate (i2i) as Head of Insights where she gets to do what she loves inherently - data and research. In addition to coauthoring i2i's bimonthly data driven newsletter, she has authored/co-authored several publications at i2i including Pakistan Startup Ecosystem Report (2019), COVID & its Impact on Pakistani Startups (2020), KP Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Report (2021), and more. She loves to make an impact on the startup ecosystem in the country by bringing equity to the use and dissemination of data and information. You can find the complete report here: https://www.insightsi2i.com/pser-21 Reading Recommendations: - Kartography by Kamila Shamsie - Being Pakistani by Raza Rumi - Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez

Uzair talks to Asanga Abeyagoonasekara about the ongoing political and economic crisis in Sri Lanka. Things have gone from bad to worse in the island nation, which is now suffering shortages of essential goods. Asanga explains how things spiralled out of control and the way out. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera is Senior Fellow at the Millennium Project and an international security analyst from Sri Lanka. He has led two government think tanks providing strategic advocacy in Sri Lanka and was the Founding Director General of the National Security Think Tank under the Ministry of Defence in the country. He is the author of Sri Lanka at Crossroads. Reading Recommendations: - The Long Game by Rush Doshi - On Thermonuclear War by Herman Kahn - The Fateful Triangle by Tanvi Madan