25/08/2026
The second Policy Dialogue Roundtable of the 𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘀–𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 (𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗖), held at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), brought together leading academics, business leaders, HR practitioners and researchers to examine one of the most pressing questions facing Pakistan’s urban society today: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴?
Titled “𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗮𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀,” the roundtable opened with presentations on the latest research into Lahore’s urban middle class by Maryam Wazirzada and Huma Maqsood, Managing Partners at FranklinCovey Pakistan, who presented insights from the household research conducted for the IFTC dialogue.
The discussion was moderated by 𝗗𝗿. 𝗔𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗾𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗱, Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at UCL and author of the award-winning The New Pakistani Middle Class. The academic panel included Dr. Umair Javed, Associate Professor of Sociology at LUMS; Dr. Fizzah Sajjad , Assistant Professor at LUMS; and Dr. Fahd Ali, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at LUMS.
The academic perspectives were complemented by business and organisational leaders who brought their experience of working with Lahore’s consumers, employees and organisations.
Vaseem Anvar, CEO of ECHO WEST INTERNATIONAL, former President and current Board of Governors member of the American Business Forum; Aisha Azhar, General Manager and Head of Learning & Development at HBL and former Director of the Rausing Executive Development Centre (REDC) at LUMS; and Arshia Ahmad Saaqib, Chief Human Resource Officer at Descon Engineering Limited, shared their insights from the business and organisational perspective.
Andleeb Abbas, Senior Consultant at FranklinCovey Pakistan, spoke on the emerging leadership deficit, exploring the gap between what employees need from their leaders and how organisations are responding to these changing expectations.
The IFTC Policy Dialogue seeks to create a space where 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁, enabling evidence-based conversations around Pakistan’s most important socioeconomic challenges.
Through continued dialogue and research, IFTC aims to contribute to better policymaking, stronger organisational leadership and a deeper understanding of the social and economic transformations shaping Pakistan.