Miftah Ismail

Former Minister of Finance || Awaam Pakistan ||

[Haroon Janjua @JanjuaHaroon]

For — @dwnews Can creating new provinces fix governance? Pakistanis broadly agree that the country needs more responsive and effective government, but many question whether simply creating more provinces is the solution. @MiftahIsmail @Abidsuleri @shoaibm37 @MohsinnaqviC42 @betterpakistan @KhawajaMAsif
https://t.co/WzAAOYEF2j

[Abdul Moiz Jaferii @Jaferii]

Khy hilal towards Khy shehbaz; DHA phase 6 karachi

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

What investment minister Qaisar Ahmed Shiekh says is correct.

Poverty (defined as less that Rs 8485 per month per person) is the highest in 10 years at 29%.

Real income is lower than in 2018/19 and disposable (after tax) income is even lower. Our economy has not grown in real per capita terms in the last four years.

Government administrated prices of gas, electricity, petrol and diesel are higher in real terms than before. So life has become more difficult.

That’s why people are eating less. Average consumption of meat, eggs, oil, and even wheat is down.

And government’s inept handling is making things worse. Last year sugar prices were manipulated to increase. This year atta prices are the highest ever.

So things are not getting better for the people. So I think the investment minister is right. And so is the interior minister about the system having collapsed.

[Shahbaz Rana @81ShahbazRana]

Another Cabinet Minister speaks!

Pakistan’s Investment Minister Qaiser Sheikh says poverty level has increased, people purchasing power has shrunk, and their miseries have multiplied. This statement should be a wake up call for those who claimed economy had improved.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

گیس تو حکومت تواتر سے مہنگی کر رہی ہے مگر پھر بھی گرڈ سے لوگ بجلی نہیں خرید رہے اور شمسی توانائی کی طرف جا رہے ہیں۔ حل صرف ایک ہی ہے کہ بجلی سستی کر دی جائے۔ کاش حکومت کو یہ بات سمجھ ا جائے

[Rehan Javed 🤫 @rehanjawed]

LET’S DO THE NUMBERS: HAS ELECTRICITY TARIFF ACTUALLY BEEN REDUCED in Pakistan ?

Before celebrating a “tariff reduction”, let’s look at the actual Consumer-end tariff, in both rupees and US cents:

2017-18: Rs13.35 | 12.24¢/kWh
2018-19: Rs13.35 | 10.16¢
2019-20: Rs13.35 | 8.30¢
2020-21: Rs16.69 | 10.28¢
2021-22: Rs16.91 | 9.80¢
2022-23: Rs24.82 | 10.48¢
2023-24: Rs29.78 | 10.48¢
2024-25: Rs35.50 | 12.70¢
2025-26: Rs34.00 | 12.10¢
CY2026: Rs33.38 | 11.94¢

The latest two figures are from Arzachel’s reports.

Yes, there has been a decline from the 2024-25 peak. But CY2026 is still 44% higher than the 2019-20 low in dollar terms, while the rupee tariff has risen from Rs13.35 to Rs33.38/unit.

So, has electricity really become substantially cheaper for the consumer — or are we simply calling a correction from a very high base a “tariff reduction”?

Numbers don’t lie.

Data supported by and extracted from NEPRA’s State of Industry Reports.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

The provenance of this title lies with @husainhaqqani, who wrote the book “Reimagining Pakistan”. When @SKhaqanAbbasi, @mustafa_nawazk and I decided on this name, we didn’t explicitly remember Husain sb’s book, but of course subconsciously we knew it. We make no claim to the title.

But I will note that we saw the need for Reimagining Pakistan before a lot of others who are talking about it today. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and I believe that every division in Pakistan should be turned into an administrative division. But we also believe that no administrative structure will work without the rule of law.

[Mariana Baabar @MarianaBaabar]

Dear @SKhaqanAbbasi @MiftahIsmail have Boys stolen your narrative?
Dear @OfficialDGISPR how unoriginal 😃
Title should be Reimagining Pakistan under Civilian Authority as Jinnah wanted.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

ایم کیو ایم کی قيادت پریس کانفرنسوں اور سیمینارز میں علیحدہ صوبوں کی بات تو کرتی ہے، لیکن جب بات اسمبلی کی آئی تو ان کے اراکین نہ صرف اس خیال سے پیچھے ہٹ گئے بلکہ کراچی یا سندھ میں کہیں بھی اچھی حکمرانی کے حق میں کوئی مقدمہ قائم کرنے میں ناكام رہے، اور نہ ہی انتظامی یونٹس پر کوئی بات کی— جو کہ عوام پاکستان پارٹی کا ترجیحی آپشن ہے۔

لیکن یہ کوئی حیران کن بات نہیں ہے۔ ماضی میں بھی، ایم کیو ایم کے ہڑتالیں کرنے اور بڑے بڑے مطالبات سامنے رکھنے کے بعد، مرحوم سینیٹر رحمان ملک الطاف حسین سے ملاقات کرتے تھے اور ایم کیو ایم کے تمام مطالبات غائب ہو جاتے تھے۔

18ویں ترمیم کے دوران مقامی حکومت کے اختیارات اور ذمہ داریوں کے حوالے سے ایک معنوی باب شامل کرنے میں ناکامی سے لے کر پی ایف سیز (صوبائی فنانس کمیشن) کو آئینی تحفظ فراہم کرنے تک، ای�� کیو ایم نے ہمیشہ عوام کو مایوس کیا ہے
یہی وجہ ہے کہ کراچی کے عوام نے انہیں ووٹ دینا چھوڑ دیا ہے، اگرچہ انہیں کراچی سے 15 قومی اسمبلی کی نشستیں دی گئی تھیں۔

اور وہ پارٹی جس نے درحقیقت کراچی کی 22 میں سے 20 نشستیں جیتی تھیں، وہ معیشت، توانائی، امن و امان، اور انتظامی یونٹس جیسے قومی سیاسی مباحثوں میں حصہ تک نہیں لیتی۔ ان کی تمام تر توجہ صرف اپنے قائد کے لیے ریلیف حاصل کرنے پر مرکوز ہے۔

عوام کو مایوس کرنا ہماری بڑی سیاسی جماعتوں کا طرۂ امتیاز بن چکا ہے

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

پاکستان میں 2.5 کروڑ سے زیادہ (39 فیصد) بچے اسکول سے باہر ہیں۔ یہ ویڈیو اُن خوش نصیب بچوں میں سے چند ایک کی ہے جو اسکول جا رہے ہیں

[Khawaja Saad Rafique @KhSaad_Rafique]

آواز ِ دروں —•—
اسلام آباد اور لاھور سمیت بڑے شھروں سے میڑو پولیٹن یا میونسپل کارپوریشن کے مئیر کا عہدہ ختم کرنا لوکل گورنمنٹ سسٹم کو کمزور کرنے اور بیوروکریسی کو مضبوط کرنے کے مترادف ھو گا ۔

مئیر کا انتخاب ون مین ون ووٹ کی بنیاد پر براہ راست ھونا چاھئیے

مختلف ادوار میں دیگر اداروں یا اتھارٹیز کو بلدیاتی اداروں سے چھینے گئے آئینی اختیارات لوٹاۓ جائیں

مقامی حکومتوں کو آئینی تحفظ اور مالی خود مختاری دی جانی چاھئیے

صوبائ حکومتیں صوبائ سطح پر اختیارات کا ارتکاز ختم کریں

پراونشل فنانش ایوارڈ کے ذریعے مرکز اور صوبے سے حاصل شدہ وسائل ضلعی سطح پر منتقل کیے جائیں

ایک ایک شھر میں چھ چھ اتھارٹیز ایک ھی کام کریں گی تو کام کیسے چلے گا ؟؟

بااختیار مقامی حکومتوں کا نظام قائم کرنا وقت کی اھم ضرورت ھے

میونسپل کمیٹیوں ، کارپوریشنز اور کینٹونمنٹ بورڈز کے علاوہ یہی کام کرنیوالے باقی تمام اداروں کا وجود آئین سے متصادم ھے

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

MQM’s leadership in press conferences and seminars talks about separate provinces but when it came to the assembly their members not only abandoned that idea but failed to make any case for good governance in Karachi or elsewhere in Sindh or even talk about administrative units, which is Awaam Pakistan party’s preferred option.

But this is not very surprising. In the past too, after MQM would do strikes and make huge demands, the late Sen Rehman Malik would meet Altaf Hussain and all of MQM’s demands would vanish.

From failing to insert a meaningful chapter on local government powers and responsibilities to giving constitutional protection to PFCs during the 18th amendment, MQM has always let the people down. Always.

It is for this reason that the people of Karachi have stopped voting for them, even though they were given 15 NA seats from Karachi.

And the party that actually won 20 out of 22 seats in Karachi doesn’t even participate in national political debates on the economy, energy, law and order, administrative units, etc. They are only focused on seeking relief for their leader.

Letting the people down has become the hallmark of our big political parties.

[Fereeha M Idrees @Fereeha]

The "distance" you mention was a complete "U-turn". They totally backtracked. There was no focus on what they want as a political party and why? They were given ample time in the parliament to express their point of view, even if they had foreseen (a bit late in the day) that their demand was not appropriately timed, they could have at least presented their case, having a complete U-turn only shows there was no homework done. You cannot keep on aggressively portraying separate provinces case in media mostly by @KamalMQM and then take three sixty degrees turn in the parliament saying you never even mentioned it. 🫣PPP outsmarted them. Also, seems evident MQM 's infighting is apparently not allowing them to do "issue based " politics at the moment.

[Abdul Moiz Jaferii @Jaferii]

If the PPP is concerned about accounting for the ruin of Sindh on the day of judgment, perhaps their biggest worry shouldn’t be having to answer to benazir Bhutto.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

Professor Chandrasekhar was born in Lahore, where his father worked in the Railways.

The Chandrasekhar limit of 1.4 solar masses means that any white dwarf star more massive than this will continue to collapse into a black hole.

[Math Files @Math_files]

In 1930, while still a young researcher, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar calculated that there is a maximum mass—now called the Chandrasekhar limit—above which a white dwarf cannot remain supported by electron degeneracy pressure. For a star that exceeds this limit, further gravitational collapse can occur, depending on the star's composition and evolution.

Arthur Eddington strongly criticized Chandrasekhar's conclusions at the time. Eddington did not accept that ordinary stars could undergo the type of gravitational collapse implied by Chandrasekhar's work.

Chandrasekhar later moved to the United States and continued his research. Over time, his work became an important part of modern astrophysics and our understanding of stellar evolution.

In 1983, Chandrasekhar received the Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with William A. Fowler, for his theoretical studies of the physical processes important to the structure and evolution of stars.
Chandrasekhar's work helped establish that sufficiently massive stellar remnants can undergo gravitational collapse. In the appropriate circumstances, this collapse can ultimately lead to the formation of a black hole.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

More than 2.5 crore or 39% of all children are out of school in Pakistan. A video of some of the lucky ones who are in school.

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

Sukhera sb you know these issues better than me and yes the commission can be captured. But perhaps we can do a commission of 3 retired bureaucrats, one retired judge and retired one business professional for fixed staggered year 5-year terms. And only one term per member. And the members of the commission themselves select the replacement of the retiring members. There maybe other ways to ensure some level of independence and fairness.

[Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera @ansukhera]

Agreed, @MiftahIsmail sb, but pls share more details of what you have proposed in the last sentence. How will such an independent commission be formed and will it be really free of any influence of the very govt that will nominate the members? Great, if it cud be done!

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

No reform will work unless you are willing to let go 5% to of 10% of the worst performers in each grade at the time of promotion to the next grade. And unless corrupt officers are fired and courts don’t routinely reinstate them. And promotions and pay are linked to performance. All of this can easily be done through an independent commission without political interference.

[Shahbaz Rana @81ShahbazRana]

Civil service reforms near final shape
But going nowhere on major issues!

The civil service reforms committee has finalised recommendations to overhaul Pakistan's ailing bureaucracy but the disagreement still persists on some core issues of specialised recruitment, option to attempt competitive examination in Urdu and a National Executive Service. https://t.co/RiX16IRL02

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

یہ پانی میں کچرا ��ہیں نظام ڈوب رہا ہے

[Syeda Wajiha Abid Rehmani @WajihaAbid1]

So called Punjab ki Good governance kahan hai jab ghar doob rahe hain??

[Miftah Ismail @MiftahIsmail]

In one video clip this gent has destroyed the narrative that ordinary citizens of Punjab are very privileged. What is says is true:

دکھ سب کے سانجھے ہیں

[Ghazanfar Abbas @ghazanfarabbass]

راولپنڈی ۔۔۔ شہری کی دہائی۔۔۔۔۔صورتحال احوال

[Aamir Saeed Abbasi @AmirSaeedAbbasi]

Murree Road Rawalpindi

[Khurram Iqbal @khurram143]

پنڈی میں 4 نمبر چونگی کے قریب صفدر آباد کے علاقے میں نالہ لئی بپھر گیا، پانی باہر نکل آیا، گاڑیاں ڈوبی ہوئی ہیں۔۔!!

[Ghazanfar Abbas @ghazanfarabbass]

راولپنڈی کے کئی علاقے تاحال زیر آب

ڈبل روڈ پر فوڈ اسٹریٹ بھی ڈوب گئی، پانی دُکانوں میں داخل ہو گیا