Pakistonomy

In the first episode of 2021, Uzair talks to Hasaan Khawar about why it is difficult to push through bureaucratic reforms, why Prime Minister Khan accepting his government's mistakes is something that should be appreciated, and his theory of change. Hasaan also shared three books that have profoundly interested him: 1) The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1443456624/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_oVDaGb2HNARQA 2) Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Hariri - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062316095/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vXDaGb5AXWMBG 3) Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Steve Coll - https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594204586/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_1WDaGbR7E74XJ

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 Thakker about these developments, asking his guest about why Narendra Modi's BJP continues to be the dominant force in politics despite the economic woes. Aman Thakker is an Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He writes a weekly newsletter called Indialogue, which is a must-read for anyone interested in following political, economic, and foreign policy developments in India.

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 the World Bank. He is currently based in Islamabad, where he leads the trade program. Previously, he worked in the World Bank’s Global Trade Unit in Washington, in the Ministry of Industries of Uruguay, and in the private sector. He also taught in the University of Sussex, the University of Pisa, and the University of Trento. His work focuses on how trade and investment policy affect firms’ performance, and it has been published in peer-reviewed journals, books and reports. He holds a PhD in Economics from Sussex.

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 experience in the business, in trading and origination for LNG, she has led teams that have bought and sold LNG, managed arbitrations, price reviews and supported companies and countries across multiple geographies that have looked to develop their capabilities to bring in LNG. As part of her current role she is responsible for the LNG Trading strategy. Interestingly, she has a long history with Pakistan, having been moved there as an infant, she did her schooling in Karachi and has had the opportunity as an adult to work in Pakistan and visit often with personal and work commitments.

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 microfinance bank and is someone who has played a key role in promoting financial inclusion in Pakistan.

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; recycling management to established restaurants; and enable to households to recycle via our door-to-door program. We have also introduced an Adopt-A-Spot Program via, which groups or individuals can adopt areas they want to be cleaned for a specified period of time. Uzair spoke to Ahmad about this sector, how the system currently functions, and why a city like Karachi does not have a robust solid waste management program. You can read the World Bank report Ahmad referred to using the link below: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/immersive-story/2018/09/20/what-a-waste-an-updated-look-into-the-future-of-solid-waste-management

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-tax-than-lahore-islamabad-markets/