All Blog Posts (1,917)

Multi-dimensional Poverty Index: India 2nd Worst After Afghanistan in South Asia

"India is home to over 340 million destitute people and is the second poorest country in South Asia after war-torn Afghanistan...In South Asia, Afghanistan has the highest level of destitution at 38%. This is followed by India at 28.5%. Bangladesh (17.2%) and Pakistan (20.7%) have much lower levels"  Colin Hunter, Center for Research on…
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Added by Riaz Haq on October 29, 2014 at 8:14pm — 11 Comments

Karachi Shares Index Outpacing Developed, Emerging and Frontier Market Indices

Pakistan lost its place in MSCI  Emerging Markets Index in December 2008. It was included in MSCI Frontiers Market Index in May 2009.  Some analysts believe that Pakistan could re-gain the Emerging Market classification (which includes BRIC countries) in a couple of years.

Since the beginning…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 29, 2014 at 7:33am — 7 Comments

Can Pakistan Stand Up to India in Conventional War?

Newly-elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's rhetoric about "jaw-breaking" (munh tod) policy toward Pakistan is the latest manifestation of a disease described by Indian diplomat Sashi Tharoor as "India's Israel…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 19, 2014 at 12:00pm — 114 Comments

Pakistan: Land of Opportunity for Social Entrepreneurs

"All members of the Commission (on Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation) were agreed, Pakistan is a land of opportunity" i-genius Opportunity Pakistan Report April, 2014

i-genius, headquartered in London, calls itself a "World Community of Social Entrepreneurs". It promotes social entrepreneurship to a…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 16, 2014 at 4:55pm — 1 Comment

Pakistan's First Bitcoin Exchange



"We plan to create a platform (Urdubit Bitcoin Exchange) where people feel safe with the world of Bitcoin and hopefully substitute it for trading locally as easily as Pakistani rupees, while giving everyone an opportunity to invest in this commodity." Zain Tariq, Urdubit, Pakistan




Zain Tariq and Danyal Manzar have launched Pakistan's first Bitcoin exchange called Urbudit, according to… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 14, 2014 at 9:11pm — 7 Comments

NED University Alumni Meet in Silicon Valley; Talk Innovation

Hundreds of my fellow alumni of Pakistan's NED University of Engineering and Technology (NEDUET) gathered in Silicon Valley for tenth annual North America convention for three days starting Friday, October 10 through Sunday, October 12, 2014. They traveled from dozens of US states and Canada. Many, including… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 13, 2014 at 3:30pm — 2 Comments

India-Pakistan Economies Compared in 2014

India and Pakistan are running neck and neck in per capita GDP in both nominal US dollar terms and purchasing power parity terms, according to data available from multiple sources.

Nominal and PPP GDP:

CIA…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 3, 2014 at 9:00pm — 9 Comments

Bangladesh, India Among Most Vulnerable to Climate Change; Pakistan Close Behind

Bangladesh and India, along with several South East Asian and African nations, are the most vulnerable to climate change, while the United States, Canada and Western Europe are the least vulnerable, according to a recently-published assessment by Standard and Poor credit rating service.  The rich industrialized nations which have contribute the most to climate change are the least…

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Added by Riaz Haq on September 23, 2014 at 4:30pm — 12 Comments

China Seeks to Dominate India With Checkbook Diplomacy

A new study shows that China is now India's top trading partner, edging out the United Arab Emirates—India’s previous top trading partner—and is comfortably ahead of the US and Saudi Arabia. India-China annual trade volume now adds up to about $70 billion, and India is running a massive $40 billion trade deficit with China. China exports high-value, high-tech machines to India while…

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Added by Riaz Haq on September 19, 2014 at 10:30pm — 6 Comments

PPP and PMLN Kleptocrats Bring Neither Democracy Nor Development in Pakistan

“Na Khuda hi mila, na visaal-e-sanam/Na udhar kay rahay, na idhar kay rahe (I found neither faith, nor union with my lover/And now I belong neither there nor here).”


Pakistan's quest for democracy under civilian rule has produced neither democracy nor development in the Islamic country of over 180 million people. Currently, Pakistan is experiencing… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 29, 2014 at 4:08pm — No Comments

Pakistani Media Drones Provide Live Coverage of PTI-PAT Sit-in Protest

Since tens of thousands of supporters of Imran Khan and Allama Tahir ul Qadri marched into Islamabad a few days ago, there have been continuous live aerial images and spectacular videos of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf's and Pakistan Awami Tehrik's massive but peaceful…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 22, 2014 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

Pakistani School Kids Perform Better on Math and Reading Tests Than Indian School Kids

Recent World Bank report on student learning in South Asia is depressing. Sri Lanka is the sole exception to the overall low levels of achievement for primary and secondary school kids in the region.  The report documents with ample data from various assessments to conclude that "learning outcomes and the average level of skill acquisition in the region are low in both absolute and relative terms". The report covers education from primary through upper secondary schools.…



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Added by Riaz Haq on August 20, 2014 at 8:30pm — 13 Comments

Encouraging Innovation Culture in Pakistan

Culture of innovation has enabled huge productivity increases and major improvements in peoples' living standards since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the 18th century. It has resulted in a monumental power shift from the East to the West and led to the European colonization of the rest of the world.



Countries in the East have finally begun to understand the value of…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 19, 2014 at 8:30am — 6 Comments

Pakistani-Americans Celebrate Eid with Food, Fashion and Music

It was food for the body and soul and feast for the eyes at a Silicon Valley Pakistani-American event called The Stage is All Yours. Dozens of Pakistanis took to the stage to show off their talents at this open mic function inspired by Waldo Emerson's quote: "Every artist was first an amateur". There were aspiring singers, musicians,…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 11, 2014 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Pakistani Woman Engineer Honored With America's Grace Hopper Award

Dr. Durdana Habib, senior faculty member at the School of Electrical Engineering, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan is the recipient of the prestigious Grace Hopper ABIE Award for 2014 from Anita Borg Institute in the United States.

The award is named after Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992)…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2014 at 11:30pm — 4 Comments

Confident Consumers Push Pakistan Eid Sales Up by Double Digits

Eid and Ramzan sales, making up over 40% of annual revenue of retailers in Pakistan, are estimated to have jumped 10-15% this year, according to early data reported in the news media.



Nielsen, a global provider of… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 1, 2014 at 6:11pm — No Comments

3D Printing Revolution Starts in Pakistan

3D printing (also called stereolithography or additive manufacturing) is a process for making a three-dimensional object of almost any shape. It uses a 3D model or other electronic data source primarily through additive processes in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control.



3D printing technology was introduced in Pakistan when Robotics Lab was launched in 2011 in Karachi. It was founded by two friends Afaque Ahmed… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 21, 2014 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Pakistani-American Inventor's Clear Braces Transform Orthodontics

Zia Chishti, a Pakistani-American serial entrepreneur,  founded his first company Align Technology in 1997 in Silicon Valley on the idea of creating clear plastic braces by using advanced 3-D computer imaging. The technology now trademarked as Invisalign has …

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Added by Riaz Haq on July 19, 2014 at 8:30am — 5 Comments

Pakistani Brothers's PC Virus Launched Modern Security Software Industry

The year was 1986. Most personal computers used floppy disks to boot and to move files from one computer to another. Floppy disk was also the medium used by Amjad and Basit Alvi, two Pakistani brothers living in Lahore, to create and spread history's first known PC virus called "The Brain".  Here's how Mikko Hypponen, a software security expert, described it last year at …

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Added by Riaz Haq on July 15, 2014 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Mobile Money Revolution in Pakistan

Pakistan government is handing out Rs. 40,000 per family to nearly a million internally displaced persons (IDPs) through mobile service operator Zong's mobile SIMs. The government is attempting to ease the discomforts of displacement for such a large number of people displaced after the start of Pakistan Army's Operation ZarbeAzb  to root out terrorists from North Waziristan tribal agency. Zong is one of…

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Added by Riaz Haq on July 11, 2014 at 7:30pm — 9 Comments

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    Blog Posts

    Biden's Gaza Ceasefire Veto Defies American Public Opinion

    Aaron Bushnell, an active serviceman in the United States Air Force, burned himself to death in front of the Israeli Embassy in protest against the US policy in Gaza. Before setting himself on fire in what he called an "extreme act of protest", he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide". Polls show that the vast majority (63%) of Americans want an immediate end to the carnage being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza.  …

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on February 27, 2024 at 5:30pm

    Pakistan Elections: Imran Khan's Supporters Skillfully Used Tech to Defy Powerful Military

    Independent candidates backed by the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) party emerged as the largest single block with 93 seats in the nation's parliament in the general elections held on February 8, 2024.  This feat was accomplished in spite of huge obstacles thrown in front of the PTI's top leader Imran Khan and his party leaders and supporters by Pakistan's powerful military…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on February 16, 2024 at 9:22pm — 1 Comment

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