This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed "A regulatory framework for Pakistan Railways - I" carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writer, Dr Omer Javed, has articulated a highly professional or technical perspective with a view to bringing about radical changes in the current structure of Pakistan Railways. He has plausibly argued that "The poor state of affairs has also been due to the inability of PR to consistently a) reduce project-related 'funding gap' so that the projects remained financially viable; b) diminish financial risks on the back of making projects technically sound, and bringing reliability of rules governing projects over their life-cycle and corporate governance of PR; and c) engage the private sector, especially through forging public-private partnerships (PPPs)"

However, I have a question for him. Why hasn't he cited any study on financial turnaround of the Indian Railways (IR)? It was about to be declared bankrupt in 2001 before it became one of India's profit-making Public Sector Enterprises.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019