QABP, a state-of-the-art industrial park, connected with M2 near Sheikhupura, is being developed by Punjab Industrial Estates Development & Management Company (PIEDMC) that, since 2002, has successfully developed Industrial Estates at Sundar (near Lahore) Multan, Bhalwal, Rahim Yar Khan and Vehari. Despite changes in concept (initially conceived as an Apparel Park for textile products) and impact of the corona pandemic, investments in the new industrial park have already surpassed one billion mark – after its soft launch by PM Imran Khan on July 18th this year.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing governments to spend on an unprecedented scale to sustain businesses and households, there has never been a better time to restore the state to its proper role as a rudder for the broader economy. The market alone is simply no match for the challenges of the twenty-first century.' – ‘Toward a new fiscal constitution’ by Mariana Mazzucato and Robert Skidelsky

The concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) calls for access to quality health for everyone without financial hardship. When it comes to health care in Pakistan, 92% of the rural population and 100% of the urban population has access to health services, however, out of pocket expenditures account for almost 70% of total health expenditures and often is the tipping force that pushes families into poverty.

Poliovirus presents itself as a health security for Pakistan, undermining the country’s national security paradigm. Its current uptick, after Corona, makes the country an international risk for spreading it to the world. In August 2020, the African region was finally declared free from the wild poliovirus. Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) began in Pakistan in 1994 and has been a huge success in bringing down polio cases from 20,000 to the present below 100. However, Pakistan along with Afghanistan is one of the two endemic countries putting the rest of the world at risk and the government needs to work with all stakeholders to bring the virus to an end.

In an exclusive interview with GVS, Taimur Khan Jhagra talks about the monumental Sehat Card Program and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s road towards universal health coverage.

Political Analyst argues that for developing countries such as Pakistan, with lack of economic and administrative resources and weak bureaucratic institutions, where even regulation of traditional media has been difficult, the fast-paced invasion of social media is proving to be an overwhelming challenge.

Improved digitalization and connectivity are crucial to advance in the 5G era. Pakistan faces significant challenges in digital penetration, due to a telecommunications sector that lags in infrastructure because of low investments, which in turn has affected basic access and quality of connectivity in the country, hindering the necessary digital transformation needed to leapfrog into the 21st century.

The author talks about the increasing role of the government and civil servants in the effective use of social media for the swift dissemination of information and their engagement with the public in current times.

Pakistan has from time and again blocked social media websites (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok) mostly over objectionable content, but it hurts employment opportunities

Shibli Faraz candidly admits the challenges faced by Pakistan's Information Minister in today’s multi-dimensional media landscape– but in this frank discussion he also outlines the vision of Imran Khan govt to change Ministry of Information and to bring it into 21st century!

On October 27, the foreign and defence ministers of India will sit down with their US counterparts for what is called a 2+2 dialogue.

Pakistan, being a Major non-NATO ally of the US cannot sit idly, when just across the border, security agreements are being signed, enhancing Indian military's capabilities. In the near future, we might see significant Indian procurements of US military systems. With such developments afoot, Pakistan has limited but vital options to choose from, in order to balance the regional strategic equation.