Future with old population numbers?

The Punjab Revenue Authority has taken a step that deserves praise. It has banned handwritten and manual receipts for hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and marriage halls. These businesses must now use the Electronic Invoice Management System, known as EIMS, to issue receipts. This is a small change on paper, but it can bring a big shift in how Punjab collects tax. For years, many businesses in Punjab have used handwritten slips or given no receipt at all. This made it easy to hide real sales. A shop could tell the tax authority one number and keep the true earnings elsewhere. Customers rarely questioned this, since a handwritten slip looked normal. This habit cost the province huge amounts of tax revenue every year. The new rule closes this gap. Every sale through EIMS gets recorded electronically. This makes it much harder for a business to underreport what it earns. The PRA has also set firm penalties. Businesses that ignore the rule can face fines between four hundred thousand and one million rupees. Repeat offenders risk having their premises sealed for up to a month. These penalties send a clear message that documentation is no longer optional. This move fits into a wider global pattern. Countries that have moved to digital invoicing have generally seen tax collection improve. Pakistan has struggled for decades with a low tax to GDP ratio, and informal cash transactions are one major reason. Punjab’s decision to enforce digital receipts is a practical, low cost way to fix part of this problem. However, this step should be the beginning, not the end. Digital receipts alone do not close every loophole. A business can still issue a proper digital receipt while asking the customer to pay in cash outside the system. The real solution is to make digital payments themselves mandatory alongside digital receipts. If customers are required to pay through cards, mobile wallets or bank transfers, then every transaction leaves a financial trail that is far harder to manipulate. This is simply how modern economies function. From small cafes to large retail chains, digital payments have become the norm across much of the world. Pakistan is lagging behind, and Punjab has an opportunity to lead the way. Encouraging or eventually requiring digital transactions would also benefit ordinary consumers, who would gain better protection through verified records of what they paid and for what. The Punjab government has taken a sensible first step. The next step should be mandatory digital transactions, not just mandatory digital receipts.

Arshad Nadeem remains one of the finest athletes Pakistan has ever produced, and one disappointing outing in Glasgow cannot erase that fact. His early exit from the Commonwealth Games javelin event has understandably worried fans, but this is a moment for support, not despair. Every great athlete faces setbacks. What matters is how they respond. Former coach Fayyaz Hussain Bukhari has raised a valid point about fitness levels ahead of the Glasgow event. He noted that Nadeem did not appear to have the same intensity he showed during earlier training sessions under his guidance. Bukhari, who worked closely with Nadeem for eight years and helped him reach the Tokyo Olympics, believes physical preparation is the foundation of success in any sport. He also called for regular fitness testing before athletes compete internationally, a suggestion authorities should take seriously. It is worth remembering that Nadeem has already given Pakistan its proudest sporting moment. His gold medal throw of 92.97 metres at the Paris Olympics in 2024 remains a historic achievement that will be remembered for generations. A single poor performance in Glasgow does not undo that legacy. Sport, by nature, involves highs and lows, and no athlete performs at their peak every single time. Bukhari believes Nadeem does not need another extraordinary throw to prove himself. He has already shown the world what he is capable of. What he needs now is to refocus, correct small mistakes and rebuild his mindset. This is completely achievable for an athlete of his caliber. Questions raised about coordination between Nadeem, his current coach Salman Butt and the Athletics Federation of Pakistan deserve honest attention. Stronger cooperation between all parties can only help Nadeem perform better on the international stage. This is the time for Pakistan to stand behind Arshad Nadeem, not criticize him. Defeat is part of every sportsperson’s journey, and true champions are defined by how they bounce back. 

The Senate Sub Committee has once again put the Federal Board of Revenue in an uncomfortable spot, and rightly so. FBR has failed to explain what happened to Rs1120 billion worth of tax exempted imports that entered former FATA and PATA regions between 2018 and 2026. That is not a small sum. It is a number large enough to demand answers, not silence. Why has FBR not provided complete records? Why is a manual tracking system still in place for imports worth over a trillion rupees? These are basic questions, yet the Board seems unable or unwilling to answer them. Every day without proper automated verification is a day that opens the door to goods slipping illegally into taxable markets, undercutting honest businesses and draining public revenue. The tobacco sector adds another layer of concern. Major companies like Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris Pakistan Limited are now under scrutiny, alongside serious cases of cigarette theft and a tax charge sheet against a senior tax official. When 2,828 cigarette cartons worth Rs25 crore go missing from an FBR warehouse, it raises a simple question: who is minding the store? FBR must stop treating Parliament’s demands as optional. Consumption certificates, tax records, and clear Standard Operating Procedures are not favours to be delayed. They are basic obligations of an institution meant to protect national revenue. Senator Saifullah Abro’s Committee deserves credit for pushing this issue repeatedly. But pressure from one Senate committee cannot substitute for real reform inside FBR. The Board must answer, and answer now, before more billions disappear into the gaps of its own negligence.

The protests by Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) against rising petroleum prices, the petroleum levy and inflation should not simply be treated as a political activity. The government needs to understand that the public’s economic pain is real. Whenever petrol and diesel prices increase, their impact goes far beyond the fuel station. Transport becomes expensive, food prices rise and the cost of doing business increases. A daily-wage worker, a small shopkeeper, a farmer and a salaried person all feel the pressure. The government’s petroleum levy may provide additional revenue, but it also adds to the burden on ordinary citizens. At a time when many families are already struggling to manage household expenses, every increase in fuel prices creates another problem. The protests in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar show that this issue has become a serious public concern. The government should listen to these voices instead of dismissing them as opposition politics. This does not mean that the government can ignore its own financial difficulties. Pakistan needs revenue to run the state, pay for public services and meet its financial obligations. But revenue collection should not depend too heavily on indirect taxes that affect everyone equally, including poor and middle-class citizens. The government must find a better balance. It should review the petroleum levy, reduce unnecessary taxes and control non-development expenditure. At the same time, it should improve tax collection from sectors and individuals with greater ability to pay. Most importantly, the government must communicate honestly with the public. If higher fuel prices are unavoidable because of international oil prices or economic conditions, people deserve a clear explanation and a plan for relief. The JI protests should therefore be seen as a warning. The government may disagree with the party’s politics, but it cannot ignore the economic reality behind the protests. Pakistan’s economic recovery will have little meaning if ordinary people continue to struggle to afford transport, food and basic necessities. The government must act with sensitivity and provide practical relief before public frustration grows further.

The Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court has voted to remove prosecutor Karim Khan. The vote came over sexual misconduct allegations. His legal team has confirmed the move and called it political. The vote happened on Friday. It came at a time when the ICC faces heavy pressure from the United States and Israel. This pressure grew after Khan issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant in 2024. This timing raises serious questions. Tayab Ali, head of Khan’s legal team, said a judicial panel had unanimously found no misconduct or breach of duty by Khan. Yet member states still voted him out. This decision does not follow the evidence. It does not follow the only judicial finding in the matter. That is unacceptable. Khan was removed by an executive vote while under US sanctions and while the court itself sat under enormous political pressure. He was never given a fair chance to be heard. A process built this way cannot claim to deliver justice. It looks like punishment for doing his job. Minute Mirror stands with Karim Khan on this point. An organisation meant to protect international law must not bend to pressure from powerful states. The ICC was built to hold leaders accountable, including leaders backed by strong allies. If prosecutors can be removed the moment they issue warrants against a protected ally, the court loses its purpose entirely. The ICC has failed Karim Khan. It failed to protect its own official from a process that ignored its own judges. It failed to explain why political timing lined up so closely with the Netanyahu and Gallant warrants. Removing him does not erase those warrants, since only ICC judges can withdraw them. But it damages trust in the court at the exact moment the world needed that trust most. Justice must never depend on who a defendant knows in Washington or Tel Aviv.

The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement has reached a new level of importance. US President Donald Trump has publicly welcomed the pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. This is not a small development. When the president of the United States acknowledges a regional defence framework, it sends a signal to the whole world. It tells other nations that this agreement carries real weight, not just symbolic value. Trump called it a step toward greater regional security. He said it shows Middle Eastern and regional states are willing to strengthen their own ability to protect themselves. This recognition matters. It places the pact on the global radar. It also gives Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye a stronger diplomatic standing as they build this new framework of cooperation. The agreement was signed in Makkah on August 7, bringing together Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Erdogan. It focuses on collective deterrence, defence planning, intelligence sharing and strategic coordination. Erdogan himself has called it a message for global peace, especially given rising US-Iran tensions. Yet a serious question remains unanswered. Where is the response from the Gulf Cooperation Council? Where is the voice of the Arab League? Both organisations represent the wider Arab and Gulf world. Both have a direct stake in regional security matters. Their silence on such a major defence pact is puzzling. This agreement was signed in Saudi Arabia, a leading GCC member. It naturally affects the interests of every Gulf state. Yet there has been no clear statement, no formal reaction from these key regional bodies. This silence raises real concerns. Does it suggest internal disagreement among Gulf states? Does it hint at hesitation to publicly support a pact that includes Türkiye and Pakistan? Or is this simply strategic caution before making a formal position? Whatever the reason, this silence cannot continue indefinitely. Regional stability requires clarity, not ambiguity. The GCC and Arab League must break their silence soon. Their voice matters just as much as any global power’s approval.