There are many causes of poverty like recession, money devaluation, trade deficits, lack of technology, infrastructure, and industrialization. In recent times, studies that focus on the effect of COVID-19 are in the headlines; among them, very few are focused on the impact of COVID-19 on poverty. Specifically, there is minimal research work on the effect of the pandemic on the outbreak of poverty concerning Southeast Asia and Pakistan. Therefore, this study has been conducted explicitly with reference to Pakistan to estimate the effect of COVID-19 on the increase of poverty through collecting data from leading economists. The study is one of the initial studies; thus, it is focused primarily on primary data in order to show the perceived impact of COVID-19 on the increase in poverty in Pakistan. The study findings and in-depth analysis could help devise relevant economic policies that may address poverty concerns burgeoning from pandemic-like situations and create a ripple effect of disturbing macroeconomic indicators and socio-economic variables in developing countries. The study uses SMART-PLS for data analysis, indicating that pandemics such as COVID-19 significantly impact the increase of poverty in Pakistan. Thus, robust policies are required to eradicate poverty and combat the causes which stem poverty issues in developing economies, specifically during pandemics where socio-economic activities become halted and income generating opportunities are ceased.

In recent years, business organizations have been compelled to compete in the competitive environment and to advance innovativeness, provide improved product and service quality and respond effectively to dynamic demands and preferences. Studies on corporate entrepreneurship are now common in Pakistan. Although most of the studies tend to explore the link between corporate entrepreneurship & a firm’s growth, however, there is also a need to check the relationship of corporate entrepreneurship with other elements of growth. Therefore, this study tries to explore the effect of innovation as a part of corporate entrepreneurship on customer’s satisfaction with the reference of middle-level management of public sector banks. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire which was analyzed through SMART-PLS. The results indicate that there is a definite relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and customer satisfaction, whereas the support of top management is also a potent variable in the context of public sector banks. This study, therefore, will be beneficial for increasing understanding and theory building criteria. The empirical findings of the study also reflected that innovation is a significant predictor of customer satisfaction and moderation of top management support is significant to foster customer satisfaction. The study offers managerial implications and future research recommendations on the basis of the findings.

China and ASEAN have established cooperation since 1990 for the pursuit of their respective strategic and economic interests. They have achieved unprecendented heights in their cooperation covering various fields. As a result of the strong relations between China and ASEAN the influence and presence of China in the region has increased manifold. As a consequence of China’s growing influence and presence in the South East Asian region, the US, Japan and India appear worried as their strategic and economic interests in the region seem to be threatened by China. They perceive China as an emerging threat to their interests in the region. Thus, the US, Japan and India have designed counter strategies to check the influence of China and protect their interests in the region. This paper attempts to summarise the findings of a doctoral study by Behan, which studies the relations between China and ASEAN and the perpection and counter strategies of the US, Japan, and India.

Pakistan’s search for security right after the independence led their policies to join western bloc in the midst of cold war due to threats posed from New Delhi and Kabul over territorial issues including Jammu & Kashmir issue, and Pak-Afghan Border. Pakistan’s foreign policy was driven by its commitment to Washington’s containment policy, which earned it hostility of communist bloc. Pakistan did not agreed to Washington’s policy of supporting New Delhi during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. This led Ayub Khan to explore other options and resulted in signing border agreement of 1963 with Beijing, which established the foundation of strategic partnership with Beijing. Islamabad played a significant role to end the Chinese isolation when it arranged the Nixon’s visit to Beijing in the early 1970s, which led to the Sino-US rapprochement. Since then, Beijing and Islamabad never looked back and have forged close association through the multilateral agreements over the years in the fields of military cooperation, nuclear cooperation as well as political and economic cooperation. The article summarizes the findings of doctoral studies by Noonari, which aims to explore the strategic cooperation between China and Pakistan and its impact over the US interests in the region.