Pakistonomy

In this Urdu discussion, Uzair Younus talks to Ahmed Majid Warraich, a Faisalabad-based entrepreneur in the agriculture sector. Uzair talked to Ahmed about the reasons for higher food inflation, his experience in modernizing farms, and what needs to be done to uplift this sector which employs almost 40 percent of Pakistan's labor force. Ahmed is currently growing Sugarcane, Wheat, Maize and various orchards. He has converted around 100 acres of his land to drip irrigation – all powered through Solar power and has completely automated the drip through automation technologies. Ahmed is a staunch advocate of sustainable agriculture and renewable energies for viable food sources. He is the Director of IRDC (Integrated Renewables Development Company) and HortiVenture Private Limited - aiming to bring sustainability and indigenous renewable sources to agriculture and beyond.

The Role of Dynasties and Caste in Politics In a previous episode of the podcast, Dr. Adil Najam made a very important point that underneath all divides in Pakistan is the class divide. That is a very important point and one could argue that this divide is anchored by the caste divide in the country, particularly in Punjab and Sindh. However, both caste and class are absent from the daily political and economic discourse in the country. To talk about this issue, Uzair hosted Dr. Hassan Javid, who is an Associate Professor of Sociology at LUMS. He has done phenomenal research on democratization and the relationship between class, power, and the state. We spoke about why dynastic politics remains popular in Pakistan, why caste is missing from political discourse, and the path ahead for Pakistan's political evolution.

The War on Free Expression In recent weeks, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has been on a banning spree. However, the issue is structural and the powers being used by the PTA were given to it through PECA, a legislation passed in 2016 by the PML-N government. In this episode, Uzair Younus speaks with Farieha Aziz about the war on free expression in Pakistan, Digital Pakistan and its future, and what message is being sent to international investors and technology companies by the actions of the PTA. Farieha Aziz is a Karachi-based, APNS-awardwinning journalist. She is a co-founder and Director at Bolo Bhi. She has a masters in English literature. She worked with Newsline from July 2007-January 2012 and taught literature to grades 9-12. She served as an amicus curiae in a case filed in the Lahore High Court in 2013, challenging the ban on YouTube, and is currently a petitioner on behalf of Bolo Bhi in a case filed in the Islamabad High Court challenging government's censorship on the Internet and the powers of the regulator.

Food inflation is breaking the back of households in Pakistan. Despite repeated warnings about a food crisis, the government has been unable to control rampant inflation. The price of wheat and flour has been rising at a rapid pace. To understand what is going on, Uzair talked to Adil Mansoor, who has deep insights about the wheat market and how it functions.

Gas Crisis Update - Urdu In this special Urdu discussion, Uzair speaks with Ammar Khan about the ongoing gas crisis and the recent cargos being bought by Pakistan. The price is now higher than the long-term Qatar contracts signed by the PML-N government and Uzair asked Ammar to explain what that means.

What's Going On, Pakistan? Ariba Shahid returns to Pakistonomy to talk about recent developments in the country. We talked about PTA bans, inflation, gas shortages, business optimism, and much more. This is a break from our usual in-depth conversations, which will return next week.

Many people within and outside Pakistan often say that if only Pakistan had a stronger narrative, the country would do much better. But the reality is much, much different. In this discussion, Uzair Younus spoke to Ejaz Haider about his recently published article in The Friday Times, titled Selling the Narrative. Ejaz Haider is Executive Editor at Indus News and was the News Editor at The Friday Times. Uzair and Ejaz talked about why the issues facing Pakistan need to be addressed by addressing root causes, rather than arguing that better marketing and branding can get the job done. You can read the full article here - https://www.thefridaytimes.com/selling-the-narrative/

Uzair Younus has a wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Adil Najam about polarization, generational shifts in Pakistan, climate change, and much more. Dr Najam needs no introduction. He is the inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University which was founded in 2014 with a generous gift from BU alum Frederick S. Pardee. He is also a Professor of International Relations and of Earth and Environment. Earlier, Prof. Adil Najam served as Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Lahore, Pakistan and as the Director of the Boston University Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. In addition to Boston University, Prof. Najam has taught at MIT and at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. His research focuses on issues of global public policy, especially those related to global climate change, South Asia, Muslim countries, environment and development, and human development.

The world is quickly moving towards renewable energy sources. In Pakistan, less than 5 percent of the country's energy comes from renewable energy (excluding hydro power). To talk about how the country can promote renewable energy and whether ending the grid as we know it is feasible, Uzair Younus spoke to Shazia Khan. Shazia Khan is the CEO of EcoEnergy, an environmental lawyer, and off-grid energy expert. She began her career as a consultant with the World Bank, working with the Global Environment Facility and Africa Energy. Prior to that, Shazia worked at Pakistan’s National Development Finance Corporation, facilitating long term financing for energy projects.

Karachi is already facing power shortages due to supply constraints of gas. Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned of another crisis in the winter months of this year and the next. And as expected, the issue has fallen victim to partisan politics. To talk about this issue from a non-partisan perspective, Uzair spoke to Samiullah Tariq, Head Of Research And Development - ‎Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company. At the heart of the issue is the price of natural gas and for as long as the price doesn't reflect the cost of the commodity, we will continue to face issues in the gas sector. Additionally, the government needs to encourage people to switch from gas-powered stoves and heaters to electric ones, as they are not only more efficient, but can help ease the growing household demand for natural gas.