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Shahid Sattar

Shahid Sattar

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Pakistan Cannot Underpass Its Way To Prosperity

Pakistan Cannot Underpass Its Way To Prosperity

Underpasses can relieve isolated bottlenecks. But when they take priority over public transport, walkable streets, affordable housing, healthcare,...

26.09.2026 30

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Pakistan’s Energy Crisis Is Policy-Made

Pakistan’s Energy Crisis Is Policy-Made

Pakistan’s energy crisis is often described as a shortage of power, gas or fuel. But that is only part of the story. The deeper problem is that we...

23.09.2026 80

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Pakistan Has Made Tax Compliance A Competitive Disadvantage

FBR keeps squeezing visible taxpayers while informality, distortion and leakage remain built into the system. Every budget season, Pakistan returns to...

18.09.2026 40

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Pakistan’s Autumn Illusion: A Crisis Of Institutions, Not Destiny

There comes a point when a country’s crisis is no longer confined to budget tables, policy speeches, or televised debates. It is felt in the daily...

17.09.2026 30

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

The Collector Changed His Name, Not His Mindset.

10.09.2026 60

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

If Zarathustra Came To Pakistan, What Would He Ask Us?

08.09.2026 60

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

The Commercial Origins And Institutional Evolution Of South Asia’s District State

This paper argues that the Deputy Commissioner is best understood not as a neutral administrator but as the institutional heir of a...

03.09.2026 40

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

A Dam Without Power Would Be A Different Project

The government has denied that Diamer-Bhasha’s 4,500MW power component is being abandoned. But if the rumour proves true, the project’s economics...

01.09.2026 60

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Elites, Tech, And Populism: The Implosion Of Modern Liberalism

For a brief moment after the collapse of the Soviet Union, liberal democracy appeared to have won the argument. Competitive elections, individual...

30.08.2026 100

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Breaking The Modern Colonial Chains

Pakistan has been independent for nearly eight decades. The Union Jack came down, the British went home, and we acquired our own flag, parliament,...

25.08.2026 40

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Privatizing Yesterday's Grid While The World Builds Tomorrow's

Pakistan is preparing to privatize some of its electricity distribution companies at precisely the moment when the electricity business itself is...

10.08.2026 40

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

A System Without Champions

Pakistan’s greatest sporting tragedy is not the absence of talent. It is the habit of forcing talent to survive without a system, then calling...

08.08.2026 50

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Who Can Pakistan Really Afford?

Section 1: The Country Is Not Going Broke—Its Social Contract IsPakistan is frequently portrayed as a country perpetually on the brink of...

03.08.2026 70

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

The Real Exchange Rate: Pakistan’s Hidden Competitiveness Crisis

AbstractPakistan’s exchange-rate debate is usually reduced to the rupee–dollar rate. That misses the policy variable that matters for trade: the...

30.07.2026 70

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

The Education Reform Pakistan Can No Longer Avoid

Pakistan's relationship with artificial intelligence is usually framed as a question of adoption: how fast can the country acquire the tools,...

24.07.2026 70

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Neglected Productivity And Innovation

Pakistan's economic debate is dominated by the wrong questions. Policymakers routinely discuss exchange rates, tariffs, subsidies, tax...

23.07.2026 60

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Nandipur, Neelum-Jhelum And The State That Cannot Execute

Nandipur should not be treated as another power-sector embarrassment to be filed away under "lessons learned." It is part of a wider...

10.07.2026 50

The Friday Times

Shahid Sattar

Stability without growth

Economic stability has turned into stagnation as the government has been unable to resolve fundamental challenges faced by businesses and industry. ...

12.10.2025 70

Business Recorder

Shahid Sattar

Argentina’s economic turnaround: a comparison with Pakistan and key lessons

In a stunning reversal of fortunes, Argentina under President Javier Milei has transformed from the brink of economic collapse to a burgeoning...

19.07.2025 80

Business Recorder

Shahid Sattar