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…

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…

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…

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…

We often hear about the unity of the ummah and how that drove progress. But this idea is poorly, if at all, understood by most people. The reasons given for the rise and fall of Muslim civilization often do not meet the test of history and rigorous analysis. In this episode, we are going to…

Conversations around the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in mainstream media end up in a “are you a patriot” or “are you a traitor” binary. There is no doubt about the fact that Pakistan has doubled down on its strategic relationship with China in recent years: Prime Minister Imran Khan recently saying in an interview that Pakistan’s…

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.

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…

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…

Fintech has played an important role in promoting financial inclusion, formalizing the economy, and accelerating economic growth around the world. Pakistan, however, has been a laggard in ensuring 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…