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Cheap Thar Coal to End Load Shedding in Pakistan

Coal is the cheapest and the most common fuel used directly or indirectly to produce electricity and heat in the world today. Global coal consumption was about 6.7 billion tons in 2006 and is expected to increase 48% to 9.98 billion tons by 2030, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). China produced 2.38 billion tons in 2006. India produced about 447.3 million tons and Pakistan mined only about 8 million tons in 2006.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 20, 2010 at 6:42pm — 44 Comments

Turning Trash Into Electricity Kills Two Birds With One Stone

Among other things during a visit to Pakistan last year, the frequent power outages, commonly called "load shedding", and piles of garbage in the streets made a distinct impression on my family and I. Since our return to the United States, I have been wondering if it is possible to solve both problems at once? Clean up the streets by collecting garbage, and burn the collected trash to generate more electricity? It… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 14, 2010 at 11:18am — 2 Comments

India, Pakistan Hackers Waging Cyber Warfare

Last year at the World Economic Forum, U.S.-based security software firm McAfee's CEO Dave Walt reportedly told some attendees that China, the United States, Russia, Israel and France are among 20 countries locked in a cyberspace arms race and gearing up for possible Internet hostilities. He further said that the traditional defensive stance of government computer infrastructures has shifted in recent years to a… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 8, 2010 at 5:13pm — 6 Comments

Pakistan's Murree Brewery Shares Join KSE-100 Index

Murree Brewery Company (KAR-MURE), a publicly listed beer maker founded in 1861, has now been added to the Karachi Stock Exchange's KSE-100 index, according to media reports from Pakistan's financial capital Karachi. The Murree Brewery is one of the oldest public companies of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 4, 2010 at 10:00am — 9 Comments

US Census 2010 and People of Pakistani Origin in America

US Census 2010 is under way! It is an extensive exercise that happens once a decade and it produces data that guides the various branches of US government and its agencies, politicians, marketers, and just about every one else who needs America's demographics data.



The numbers produced by the Census drive the allocation of seats in the US Congress, budget appropriations, government policies, college enrollment, as well as big decisions on products, employment and target markets by… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 3, 2010 at 6:35pm — 5 Comments

Alleviating Severe Child Malnutrition in India, Pakistan

Although it's a subject I have often written about, this particular post about fighting child malnutrition is inspired by a recent email from Col. Pavan Nair, an Army officer turned social activist, and a patriotic Indian with a deep sense of service to those in the greatest need in his country and its neighborhood.…



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Added by Riaz Haq on March 15, 2010 at 11:09pm — 4 Comments

Pakistan's Media and Publishing Boom

With the planned September launch of its Pakistan edition, Newsweek magazine is the latest publication to join Pakistan's media revolution, according to MediaBistro.com. Newsweek Pakistan will be the first licensed international news magazine for the country and the eighth local edition under the Washington Post Co.-owned Newsweek brand. Other country editions published by… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 13, 2010 at 10:30am — 18 Comments

Pakistani-American Engineer Buys America's NFL Football Team

What is NFL? It is America's National Football League, the biggest sports franchise business in the world. It's much bigger the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise which is much better known to South Asians. The IPL has particularly been in the news lately for its controversial exclusion of Pakistani cricket players. Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, who criticized Pakistanis' exclusion from IPL, has come under attack by right-wing Hindu extremists who are rampaging through the streets in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 12, 2010 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment

Should Competence Trump Honesty in Pakistan?

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" is a quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, also known as Honest Abe.



I do not entirely agree with Honest Abe, but what does it mean in Pakistan's context, given the extraordinary and often hypocritical incessant demands for honesty by the nation's TV talking heads? Is competence not as big or bigger virtue than honesty? Is it not Utopia to expect angels to rise to leadership positions in a nation that… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 1, 2010 at 8:47am — No Comments

Carbon Credits Can Fund Clean Energy in Pakistan

Cash poor and energy-starved Pakistan should consider tapping into the London-based global carbon trading market to fund its renewable energy projects. The carbon market is about $6 billion now, and it is projected to exceed 50 billion dollars after the US joins carbon trading. Here is how I understand it:…



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Added by Riaz Haq on January 28, 2010 at 11:00pm — 2 Comments

Empowering Pakistani Women and Poor With Phones, Literacy

A pilot program in Pakistan has demonstrated the effectiveness of pushing mass literacy through the use of cell phone text messaging capability. The five-month experiment, initiated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), targeted 250 females aged 15 to 24 years old in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 25, 2010 at 10:30am — 3 Comments

Guns Versus Butter Debate in South Asia

I have just published on my blog, Haq's Musings, a guest post by Colonel Pavan Nair, a retired Indian Army officer, a detailed analysis of the Indian defense spending in the context of the nation's growing needs for social spending on food, education and health care. Col Nair prefaces his analysis by lamenting that "defense economics has not been a subject for serious… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 23, 2010 at 9:30am — 1 Comment

Gas and Electricity Shortages Hurting Pakistan

Hagler Bailly, a global management consulting firm with an office in Islamabad, warned in a 2006 study that Pakistan is going to witness gas shortage starting in 2007, and the imbalance will grow every year to cripple the economy by 2025, when shortage will be 11,092 MMCFD (Million standard cubic feet per day) against total 13,259 MMCFD production. The Hagler Bailly… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 13, 2010 at 9:57pm — 24 Comments

Comparing India and Pakistan 2010

Making predictions is hazardous business. After all, who would have forecast with any accuracy the Soviet defeat in Afghanistan and the fall of the Berlin wall in late 1980s, or the terrorists attacks of September 11, 2001, or the near-collapse of the US financial markets in 2008, the kind of events that fundamentally changed the world. This new decade of 2010-2020 could also bring long-lasting but hard to… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 7, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Thorium Nuclear Power For South Asians

In addition to green energy from water, wind and sun, is there a source of clean, renewable and plentiful energy that can satisfy the growing needs of the humankind… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 30, 2009 at 5:00pm — 2 Comments

Demographics: Pakistanis in America

Pakistani-American has been elected mayor of a town in Washington state by a landslide. The 54-year-old Mayor-elect Haroon Saleem admits that running the Timberline Bar and Cafe, with beer ads plastered everywhere, is not exactly a pious following of Islam, which forbids alcohol consumption.



The big win for a Muslim… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 28, 2009 at 1:48pm — 2 Comments

Pakistan: Year 2009 in Review

This December 31, 2009, is not just the end of the year; it brings a momentous decade of achievements in Pakistan to a chaotic and bloody end. After a relatively peaceful but economically stagnant decade of the 1990s, the year 1999 brought a bloodless coup led by General Pervez Musharraf, ushering in an era of accelerated economic growth that led to more than doubling of the national GDP, and dramatic expansion in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 26, 2009 at 7:40pm — No Comments

Human Capital Generates Wealth of Nations

In modern economies, land and manufacturing continue to be significant sources of wealth of nations. However, the developed world, with icons like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, is in the midst of a major transformation to accumulation of wealth in the form of intellectual property. In this evolving new economy, there is much greater emphasis on intangible knowledge assets than on physical or tangible assets. The value of the intellectual assets determines the clout and… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 23, 2009 at 6:07pm — 6 Comments

Pakistan's Modern Infrastructure

As Pakistan struggles to bring a sense of stability and security amidst daily carnage, it is important to recognize that there is more to Pakistan than meets the eyes of a casual consumer of the images and reports by the world's media. For example, Pakistan is a developing country with functional bureaucracy, well-organized police force, democratic institutions and a powerful army. And Pakistan has more…

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Added by Riaz Haq on December 18, 2009 at 8:30pm — 30 Comments

Pakistan Thrash India to Reach Hockey Final

Pakistan and India have had two sports encounters this year at major international events in cricket and field hockey. Pakistan have won on both occasions to go on to the the final or semifinal. In September this year, Pakistan beat India in the ICC T20 Champions Trophy group match in South Africa to qualify for the semifinal. And today, Pakistan beat India 6-3 in a Champions Challenge hockey tournament… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 13, 2009 at 9:23pm — No Comments

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    US-India Ties: Does Trump Have a Grand Strategy?

    Since the dawn of the 21st century, the US strategy has been to woo India and to build it up as a counterweight to rising China in the Indo-Pacific region. Most beltway analysts agree with this policy. However, the current Trump administration has taken significant actions, such as the imposition of 50% tariffs on India's exports to the US, that appear to defy this conventional wisdom widely shared in the West. Does President Trump have a grand strategy guiding these actions?  George…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 31, 2025 at 6:30pm — 11 Comments

    Humbled Modi Reaches Out to China After Trump Turns Hostile

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be shedding his Hindutva arrogance. He is reaching out to China after President Donald Trump and several top US administration officials have openly and repeatedly targeted India for harsh criticism over the purchase of Russian oil. Top American officials have accused India, particularly the billionaire friends of Mr. Modi, of “profiteering” from the Russian…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 24, 2025 at 9:00am — 11 Comments

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