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Should Pakistan Tell US Where to Shove its Aid?

"Aid only postpones the basic solutions to crucial development problems by tentatively ameliorating their manifestations without tackling their root causes. The structural, political, economic, etc. damage that it inflicts upon recipient countries is also enormous.” These words were written in a letter to UN to refuse aid by Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe of Eritrea which is the…

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Added by Riaz Haq on September 27, 2011 at 9:00pm — 29 Comments

Pakistan's Goodbye to IMF

Citing significant improvements in Pakistan's current account balance, Pakistan's Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has said that his government would not waste its energy on reviving the currently suspended IMF program that began in 2008, or seek a new IMF bailout, according to a report in Pakistan's Dawn… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 17, 2011 at 11:00am — 2 Comments

Managing Droughts and Floods in Pakistan

Pakistan has increasingly been suffering from cycles of severe droughts followed by massive floods in the last few years. This recurring pattern of shortage and excess of water gives us a preview of the growing challenge of climate change. This situation calls for a comprehensive water management effort to deal with a potentially existential threat to Pakistan.



Flood-Drought… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 15, 2011 at 7:30am — 55 Comments

Pakistan's Wall Street Journal Ad Sept 11, 2011

 

 



Here's an Express Tribune description of the ad:



The advertisement, which includes a photograph of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari lists several statistics which… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 13, 2011 at 5:34pm — 1 Comment

Working Women Leading a Social Revolution in Pakistan

While Fareed Zakaria, Nick Kristoff and other talking heads are still stuck on the old stereotypes of Muslim women, the status of women in Muslim societies is rapidly changing, and there is a silent social revolution taking place with rising number of women joining the workforce and moving up the corporate ladder in Pakistan. …



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Added by Riaz Haq on September 11, 2011 at 5:30pm — 112 Comments

Pakistan Ten Years After 911

Here are a few facts about Pakistan's role in the "war on terror" since Sept 11, 2001:



First, none of the terrorists who carried out the 911 attacks on the United States were from Pakistan.



Second, the former Pakistani President Musharraf condemned the 911 attacks and quickly allied his country with the United States in the coalition to fight the US-led "global war on terror".



Third,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 10, 2011 at 9:37am — 3 Comments

Wikileaks on The Gangs of Karachi

Here are some excerpts from Wikileaks on the "Gangs of Karachi":



US embassy cable - 09KARACHI138

SINDH - THE GANGS OF KARACHI

Identifier: 09KARACHI138

Origin: Consulate Karachi

Created: 2009-04-22 11:52:00









Summary: The police in Karachi are only one of several armed…

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Added by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2011 at 5:30pm — 40 Comments

Can Pakistani Diaspora Help in Pakistan's Development?

Nearly 5 million Pakistani emigrants make up the world's 7th largest disapora, according to the World Bank Factbook 2011. Adding the foreign-born children of these Pakistani emigres to the tally pushes the total figure up to about 7 million. The top five nations that the Pakistani diaspora calls home include the United Kingdom (1.2 million), The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1.2 million), the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 3, 2011 at 7:03pm — 32 Comments

Growing Nexus of Crime and Politics in Karachi

Former Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza's dramatic August 28 press conference with a copy of the Holy Quran in his hand has become the center of news media attention in recent days.







Following this highly emotion-charged press conference which was carried live by almost all of the mainstream TV channels, Mirza has been hailed as a hero by some of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 31, 2011 at 7:00pm — 32 Comments

Fewer Pakistanis Than Indians Drop Out of Schools and Colleges

Pakistanis spend more time in schools and colleges and graduate at a higher rate than their Indian counterparts in 15+ age group, according to a report on educational achievement by Harvard University researchers Robert Barro and Jong-Wha Lee.



In a recent Op Ed titled "Preparing the Population for a Modern Economy" published by Pakistan's Express…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 23, 2011 at 9:30pm — 7 Comments

Pakistan Independence Day Seminar in Silicon Valley

Independence Day 2011 seminar was organized by Pakistani-American Cultural Center in San Jose on August 14, 2011. It featured several speakers representing multiple generations of Pakistani-Americans living in Silicon Valley.







The…

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Added by Riaz Haq on August 20, 2011 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

Pakistan's PPP GDP for 2010-11 at $555 Billion

Nominal per capita incomes in both India and Pakistan stand at just over $1200 a year, according to figures released in May and June of 2011 by the two governments. This translates to about $3100 per capita in terms of PPP (purchasing power parity). Using a more generous PPP correction factor of 2.9 for India as claimed by… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 19, 2011 at 5:30pm — 5 Comments

Happy 64th Birthday, Pakistan!

“You tend to hear the worst 5% of the Pakistan story 95% of the time.”


The above is a quote attributed to Pakistani Entrepreneur Monis Rahman in Aug 8, 2011 Forbes Magazine story titled “Want to Start a Company in the World's Sixth-Most Populous Country? Time to Move to Pakistan”.



On Pakistan's 64th birthday today, there is a lot of coverage by the traditional media focused on "the worst 5% of the Pakistan story". To help my readers piece… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 14, 2011 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Pakistani Jazz Album Tops American and British Music Charts

Pakistan's Sachal Studios Orchestra, named after Sindhi Sufi Saint Sachal Sarmast (1739–1829), has topped iTunes jazz charts in America and Britain with its interpretation of Dave Brubeck's Take Five that blends classical violins with sitars, tablas and other South Asian instruments, according to British media… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 9, 2011 at 8:20pm — 14 Comments

Powerful Oligarchs of South Asia

India is the world's third biggest and the fastest rising oligarchy with 17.2% of its GDP amassed by its 55 billionaires. India's system of governance has some of the worst of features of democracy and oligarchy in which the democratically elected politicians are bought off by the richest Indians, and both groups further enrich themselves at the expense of the vast majority of ordinary Indians. The biggest Indian… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 6, 2011 at 9:00am — 10 Comments

Production and Sales of Cars and Televisions Rose in Pakistan in 2010-11

First 9 months of fiscal 2010-2011 saw production of television sets jump 28.6% and automobile production increase by 14.6%, according to Economic Survey of Pakistan 2010-2011. From July 2010 to March 2011, production of cars, light commercial vehicles and two and three wheelers grew by 16.4%, 20.5% and 12.6% respectively. These figures… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 2, 2011 at 8:58am — 26 Comments

Rise of Oligarchy in India and Pakistan

Is India an oligarchy controlled by its 55 recently-minted billionaires whose wealth equals one-sixth of their country's GDP?



The answer to this question came when, as part of India's 2G scandal revelations, the Billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani was quoted as… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 27, 2011 at 10:11pm — 5 Comments

Pakistan Empowers Rural Women Through Government Land Grants

The PPP-led Sindh government is granting over 212,864 acres of government-owned agriculture land to landless peasants in the province.



Over half of the farm land being given is prime nehri (land irrigated by canals) farm land. About 70 percent of the … Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 8, 2011 at 10:54pm — No Comments

Pakistan Ahead of India in Innovation Efficiency

While Pakistan fares badly, ranking 103 on a list of 125 nations, on CII-INSEAD Global Index of Innovation for 2011, it is included among the top 10 countries for the Innovation Efficiency sub-Index. These countries are Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, Moldova, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, India, and Bangladesh.







This places Pakistan in 4th place on… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 3, 2011 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Impact of Declining Muhajir Birth Rates on Pakistan's Demographics and Politics

Why did the Muttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) react so strongly to the PPP's aggressive stance in the recent Azad Kashmir elections that it decided to pull out of the ruling coalition? Why has the MQM leadership replaced "Mohajir" with "Muttahida" in its name? Why is the MQM so eager to expand its base from the exclusively Urdu-speaking urban Sindh to other provinces and regions?…



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Added by Riaz Haq on July 2, 2011 at 9:59am — 2 Comments

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    Blog Posts

    Pakistani Student Enrollment in US Universities Hits All Time High

    Pakistani student enrollment in America's institutions of higher learning rose 16% last year, outpacing the record 12% growth in the number of international students hosted by the country. This puts Pakistan among eight sources in the top 20 countries with the largest increases in US enrollment. India saw the biggest increase at 35%, followed by Ghana 32%, Bangladesh and…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on April 1, 2024 at 5:00pm

    Agriculture, Caste, Religion and Happiness in South Asia

    Pakistan's agriculture sector GDP grew at a rate of 5.2% in the October-December 2023 quarter, according to the government figures. This is a rare bright spot in the overall national economy that showed just 1% growth during the quarter. Strong performance of the farm sector gives the much needed boost for about …

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on March 29, 2024 at 8:00pm

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