Category: Published Features

Dawn, Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, International Finance, Pakistan, Pakistani Initiatives, Published Op EdsLeave a comment

Seismic costs

imadahmed

Dawn | October 7, 2018 Imaduddin Ahmed WHEN considering investment in an infrastructure project, responsible investors or donors would ask: what is the need? What are the financial, social and environmental costs? What are the risks and the unknowns? Is the project likely to yield higher costs than benefits? Is the project the best option to address the need? Pakistan’s judiciary and government have called upon Pakistanis to invest in the Diamer-Basha and Mohmand Dam Fund, and yet they have insufficiently addressed these questions. The Supreme Court’s online app­eal is not accompanied by a feasibility study. From the outside looking … Continue reading Seismic costs

Dawn, Pakistan, Published Op Eds, Published WorkLeave a comment

Courting disaster

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Dawn | August 18, 2017 Imaduddin Ahmed SIXTEEN million people in Pakistan lack access to safe water. Scarcity of clean water and poor sanitation claim 19,000 children under five years of age in Pakistan annually, according to WaterAid. Per FAO/World Bank data, Pakistan’s internal renewable freshwater per capita is less than that in Syria, whose civil war has in part been attributed to water scarcity. The Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources forecasts worsening scarcity. The way in which new hydroelectric plants on the Chenab and upstream Jhelum are operated by India could further exacerbate shortages. Besides taking the … Continue reading Courting disaster

Uncategorized, Women's rightsLeave a comment

The Protection of Women against Violence Act falls short of its objective

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by Nihal Ates Pakistan Today | 9 March, 2016 A London-based independent domestic violence advocate hopes national legislation won’t repeat the Punjab Act’s mistakes Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy intimated at the Oscars that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will legislate at the national level to address honour killings. One hopes that the legislation he plans to pass is of a higher standard than the recently passed Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act, which has been hyperbolically hailed by Pakistani newspapers as a ‘comprehensive protection to women against a range of crimes’, as ‘making all crimes against the women [sic] an offence,’ and … Continue reading The Protection of Women against Violence Act falls short of its objective

Aman ki Asha, Family, Lahore, Pakistan, Pakistani Initiatives, Published Features, Published Work, Women's rightsLeave a comment

A cross-border friendship puts women in the driving seat

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An Indo-Pak friendship born in the United States underlines the shared value of women’s empowerment Aman ki Asha | Dec 2, 2015 Imaduddin Ahmed Sightings of women driving pink rickshaws around Lahore have seized global media attention about the initiative to enfranchise women, those seeking to supplement their livelihood as well as those seeking safe passage. I first heard about the Pink Rickshaw being voiced as a concept some time back at the work desk of my ever-active khala (mother’s sister), Zar Aslam, when I was on a visit from Rwanda to see family in Lahore. That’s when I learnt … Continue reading A cross-border friendship puts women in the driving seat

Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, Financial Times, International Finance, Kinyarwanda, Published Features, Published Op Eds, Published Work, RwandaLeave a comment

PPP success in Rwanda shows potential for greater self-reliance

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Financial Times Beyond BRICS | 2 April, 2015 New Times | 4 April, 2015 allAfrica | 4 April, 2015 World Bank EIN News Desk | 6 April, 2015 Twenty-one years after its genocide, Rwanda ranks 46th in the world for ease of doing business according to the World Bank, four spots below its former coloniser Belgium. This is flattering. The rush with which international lenders financed its energy utility’s first solar public private partnership (PPP) demonstrates that this ranking is not empty academic musing. Yet, in the same manner in which Rwandans drew on their own internal reserves of strength … Continue reading PPP success in Rwanda shows potential for greater self-reliance