Privatisation must move fast and stay transparent

The inflation rate has finally slipped back into single digits, and this is genuinely good news. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has confirmed that annual inflation fell to 9.2 percent in July 2026, down from 11.1 percent in June. After three straight months of double-digit readings in April, May and June, this drop deserves to be welcomed. It signals that the aggressive monetary tightening and stabilisation measures of the past year are finally showing results. Businesses that had been struggling with unpredictable input costs can now plan with slightly more confidence, and policymakers at the State Bank will have room to consider further easing of interest rates. But the government must resist the temptation to treat this number as a victory lap. A single month of improved statistics does not undo years of erosion in ordinary people’s purchasing power. For the average household in Lahore, Karachi or Peshawar, a fall from 11.1 percent to 9.2 percent is not something felt at the kitchen table. Prices of flour, cooking oil, vegetables and electricity remain far above where they stood two or three years ago. The inflation rate measures the pace of increase, not the level of prices, and that distinction matters enormously to families who are still paying inflated rates for basic goods every single day. The government also needs to be honest about how fragile this improvement is. A large part of the drop is due to the base effect, as last year’s high prices make this year’s comparison look better on paper. Energy prices remain volatile, the rupee is still under pressure, and any external shock, whether from global oil markets or domestic tax measures, could push inflation back into double digits within months. Claiming credit now, without acknowledging these risks, would be premature and would mislead the public about how far there is still to go. Real relief will only come when wages catch up with the cumulative price increases of recent years, when utility bills stop consuming a disproportionate share of household income, and when the cost of food staples becomes predictable again. None of that is reflected in a single month’s inflation reading. The government would do better to treat this figure as a modest and welcome data point, not as proof that the economic crisis facing ordinary Pakistanis has passed. Until people actually feel the difference in their monthly budgets, talk of relief remains premature.

Pakistan and the United States have signed a new five-year agreement on higher education. The deal will run from 2026-27 to 2031-32. It brings back the Fulbright programme along with other important scholarships. This is good news for Pakistani students. The agreement covers Fulbright Master’s and PhD programmes. It also includes the Visiting Scholar Programme, the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Programme, and the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship. The plan aims to send 66 Pakistani PhD scholars to the United States over five years. Many more students can benefit from the other programmes too. This move deserves praise. Pakistan needs skilled people in every field. Science, technology, medicine, and education all need trained experts. When young Pakistanis study abroad, they learn new ideas and skills. If they return home, they can use this knowledge to help the country grow. The financial details show serious commitment. The Higher Education Commission will give at least $4.54 million every year. The total cost over five years will reach Rs6.48 billion. Selection will be based on merit only. There will be no quotas based on region or group. This is a fair approach and should be welcomed by everyone. However, appreciation alone is not enough. Pakistan must think beyond sending students abroad. The real test comes when these scholars return home. Sadly, many highly qualified Pakistanis struggle to find good jobs in their own country. Some end up doing work far below their qualification level. Others simply move abroad again because Pakistan does not offer them proper opportunities. This must change. The government should create clear career paths for returning scholars. Universities need more research funding and modern laboratories. Industries should be encouraged to hire local PhD holders instead of relying only on foreign consultants. Without such steps, the country risks losing its best minds all over again. The government should also expand this kind of agreement with other countries. More scholarships mean more opportunities for Pakistani youth. But every scholarship should come with a plan for what happens after graduation. Pakistan has invested in this agreement with hope. That hope will only turn into real progress if the country welcomes its scholars back with real jobs, real research support, and real respect for their hard-earned qualifications.

Pakistan does not often receive praise from international publications on economic matters. This time, it has earned it. A US publication has praised Pakistan’s efforts to modernise its financial system, saying the country is steadily strengthening its position in the global digital financial landscape through reforms and technological innovation. This praise is well deserved. This did not happen by accident. It happened because Pakistan chose to invest in digital transformation at a time when many countries are still debating whether digital finance is worth the effort. The article rightly noted that Pakistan has the potential to play a meaningful role in the evolving global digital economy. The publication commended his vision, and for good reason. Building a regulatory system for virtual assets from scratch is not easy. Pakistan needed clear rules, not confusion, and PVARA has worked to provide exactly that. The message is simple: Pakistan must actively position itself within the international digital financial system to benefit from emerging technologies and new economic opportunities. What stands out most is a simple but powerful idea from the article. The future will belong to countries that make swift decisions and implement reforms without delay. This is a lesson Pakistan has learned the hard way in other sectors, where slow decision-making has cost the country valuable time. In digital finance, Pakistan appears determined not to repeat that mistake. The article also makes an important point about how governments must operate going forward. It says governments can no longer rely solely on traditional bureaucratic systems. They must instead adopt the speed, flexibility and innovation-driven approach of technology startups. This is a bold statement, but it reflects reality. Digital finance moves fast, and slow institutions get left behind. Digital assets are becoming the foundation of tomorrow’s financial infrastructure. Countries investing in digital finance today will be better positioned for long-term economic growth and global competitiveness. Pakistan is one of these countries, and that deserves recognition. None of this means the work is finished. The government still has a long road ahead in building trust and expanding financial inclusion. But the direction is right, and this recognition from an international publication confirms that Pakistan’s efforts are being noticed. Pakistan should build on this momentum, not lose it.

The Combined Competitive Examination 2024 was meant to open doors for young Sindh residents seeking government careers. Instead, it has become a symbol of broken trust. Out of more than 4,300 candidates who sat the exam, only 70 passed. This low number alone raised serious doubts. When detailed marks sheets came out, those doubts turned into anger. Candidates found strange errors in their results. A single 100-mark paper in criminology appeared as two papers worth 200 marks. A similar problem showed up in environmental science. These are not small clerical slips. They point to deeper flaws in how the Sindh Public Service Commission handled this process. The protests that followed are justified. Students did not just complain online. They organised sit-ins. They held rallies. They formed the Movement for Restoration of Meritocracy. Their demands are simple and fair. They want the exam cancelled. They want a fresh test conducted properly. They want an independent inquiry into how the SPSC has handled recruitment over the past five years. The legal battle adds another layer of concern. The Sindh High Court suspended the results and asked the SPSC to produce full records. That was a reasonable step toward accountability. But the Federal Constitutional Court later suspended those orders, allowing interviews for the 70 successful candidates to continue. This leaves thousands of young people without answers while the process moves forward around them. This newspaper believes the SPSC owes these candidates transparency, not silence. A spokesperson refusing to comment while the matter sits in court is not good enough. Public institutions exist to serve citizens fairly. When thousands of young people spend years preparing for an exam, they deserve a system they can trust. Sindh’s youth are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for merit to be respected. The government and the SPSC must treat this seriously. An independent judicial inquiry would help restore public confidence. Anything less will only deepen the belief that government jobs go to the connected, not the capable. Young people who play by the rules deserve a system that does the same.

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 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.