politics
Cash, Votes and Hunger: The Politics of Pakistan's Handouts
BISP rises to Rs 844.8 billion. Is it a plan for the poor, or a machine for votes? I read the numbers, and I tell you what I believe.
Asad Baig
What Was Pakistan's Foreign Exchange Reserves in March 2026? $21.79 billion verified, equivalent to approximately 3.6 months of import cover By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 4-min read The short answer Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves stood at $21.79 billion in March 2026 per State Ba...
Asad Baig
How Much Money Has the Roshan Digital Account Accumulated? $12.426 billion across 917,400 accounts in over 175 countries as of March 2026 By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 4-min read The short answer The Roshan Digital Account has accumulated $12.426 billion in cumulative inflows since its...
Asad Baig
What Happened to Pakistani Reserves After 9/11? A 10x reserves growth from $1.7B to $16B in six years, but largely from US aid and remittance scrutiny rather than structural reform By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The short answer Pakistani foreign reserves grew from approximat...
Asad Baig
What Were Foreign Exchange Bearer Certificates (FEBCs)? Government-issued anonymous bearer instruments introduced in 1973, the first legal money laundering tool in Pakistani history By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The short answer Foreign Exchange Bearer Certificates (FEBCs) w...
Asad Baig
What Is FERA 1947 and How Did It Shape Pakistani Banking? The British colonial framework Pakistan inherited at independence and the two-tier system it established By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The short answer FERA stands for the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, originally e...
Asad Baig
Why Was Pakistan Placed on the FATF Grey List in 2018? The terror financing and money laundering concerns that triggered the listing, and the four-year compliance journey By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The short answer Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list in June 2018 du...
Asad Baig
What Is the Roshan Digital Account and How Do I Open One? A direct answer for overseas Pakistanis with NICOP or POC documentation By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The short answer The Roshan Digital Account (RDA) is a fully digital foreign currency banking product launched by t...
Asad Baig
Did the IMF Force Pakistan to Sign the 1994 Power Policy? A common defence of the 1994 contracts examined honestly. The short answer is no. The longer answer is more uncomfortable. By Asad Baig · Lahore · April 2026 · Approx. 5-min read The defence Whenever I write about the 1994 Power Policy, the...
Asad Baig
What Is Circular Debt in Pakistan's Power Sector? The Rs. 2,640 billion problem nobody can fully explain in one sentence, explained in five minutes By Asad Baig · Lahore · April 2026 · Approx. 5-min read Circular debt in one paragraph Circular debt is the amount of money owed by Pakistan's power se...
Asad Baig
The Roshan Digital Account Explained: Why It Worked When Other Reforms Failed How a single 2020 product accumulated $12.426 billion across 917,400 accounts and survived the 2023 near-default crisis By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 10-min read What this cluster post is part of This is one...
Asad Baig
The Pakistan FCY Restriction Era (1947 to 1985) How the legal architecture for class-based foreign currency access was built across four decades By Asad Baig · Lahore · May 2026 · Approx. 10-min read What this cluster post is part of This is one of four cluster posts under the foreign currency acco...
Asad Baig