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Pakistan Defeat Kiwis--Level Test Series

After a string of 12 test match losses over the last three years, Pakistan won convincingly today against New Zealand by 141 runs at the Basin Reserve in Wellington. Pakistan's bowling attack, the Akmal brothers superb batting performance and patient scoring and leadership by Mohammad Yousuf were crucial in winning.



Ross Taylor's valiant second innings stand that added 97 runs couldn't save the Kiwis from defeat. In the end, Pakistan 264 (Kamran Akmal 70, Vettori 4-53, Tuffey 4-64)… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 6, 2009 at 12:15am — No Comments

Volunteer Programmers Contribute to Google Maps For Pakistan

After painfully watching the heartbreaking scenes of carnage in Pakistani provincial capital of NWFP on TV screens, it came as a pleasant surprise to see the New York Times mention Peshawar in a different context; volunteer cartographers contributing to digital maps "from Petaluma to Peshawar". It particularly caught my attention because I have had the pleasure of visiting both of these fine cities, and I currently live not… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on November 22, 2009 at 10:45pm — 10 Comments

Remembering Professor Nauman 1951-2009

My good friend and NED University Professor Mohammad Nauman passed away last Sunday. He was a dedicated teacher at NED Engineering University in Karachi. Born on December 19, 1951 in Bahawalpur, Nauman attended Cadet College, Petaro, and then graduated from NED University in electrical engineering in 1974. He attended North Carolina State University for his graduate work.



Nauman was a soft-spoken academic and a left-leaning intellectual of high caliber. He was loved by his friends,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on November 16, 2009 at 8:08pm — 1 Comment

Life Goes On in Pakistan

The world media are focusing on scores of deadly terrorist attacks in the last four weeks claiming over 300 innocent lives in Pakistani cities, and tracking the military's counterinsurgency campaign unfolding in South Waziristan. However, the Pakistani blogosphere is buzzing with… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on November 12, 2009 at 5:01pm — 3 Comments

Social Entrepreneur Fixing India's Sanitation Crisis

Guest Post by Dost_Mittar



A simple solution to a disgusting problem

"The toilet is a part of the history of human hygiene which is critical chapter in the growth of civilization."

[Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak]



Anyone who has seen the blockbuster film “Slumdog Millionaire” would remember one… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 28, 2009 at 11:00pm — 2 Comments

Pakistan Education Reform: Rehman Fires Back at Hoodbhoy

Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy is a vocal critic of Pakistan's Higher Education Reform initiated by Dr. Ata ur Rahman, adviser to President Musharraf, in 2002. This reform resulted in over fivefold increase in public funding for universities, with a special emphasis on science, technology and engineering. The reform supported initiatives such as a free national digital… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 24, 2009 at 5:20pm — 3 Comments

Pakistani IT Industry Overview

Pakistan's information technology industry is quite young. It is in very early stages of development compared to the much older and bigger Indian IT industry, which had a significant headstart of at least a decade over Pakistan. During the lost decade of the 1990s under Bhutto and Sharif governments, Pakistani economy stagnated and its IT industry did not make any headway. However, the industry has grown at 40% CAGR… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 22, 2009 at 1:30pm — 19 Comments

India, Pakistan Contrasted by Roti, Kapra Aur Makaan

There is nothing more basic in terms of human necessities than the adequate availability of roti, kapra aur makaan. Going beyond these bare essentials of food, clothing and housing, one can add sanitation, health care and education. Let's examine how the two biggest nations in South Asia are coping with such fundamental necessities of their population:…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 12, 2009 at 10:04pm — 3 Comments

Asia Gains in Top University Rankings 2009

The latest edition of the world's top universities from The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) has few surprises in 2009. The top 10 Universities are: Harvard (US), Cambridge (UK), Yale(US), UCL, London (UK), Imperial College, London and Oxford (both UK, joint 5), Chicago (US), Princeton (US), MIT, Massachusetts (US) and California Institute of Technology (US). As always, the top of the list is dominated by American and British Universities this year, together making up about 40% of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 9, 2009 at 10:00pm — 3 Comments

South Asia Lags in Human Development

In spite of the fact that Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) has risen by 1.30 percent per year from 0.402 to 0.572 during 1980-2007 period, and it has accelerated to 1.9% increase since 2000 when it was reported to be 0.499, its progress is not yet sufficient to improve the nation's ranking relative to other countries in regions like East Asia, which have been moving considerably faster. Pakistan's index… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 8, 2009 at 10:30am — 1 Comment

More on Quality of Higher Education in India and Pakistan

A recent Chowk.com article titled "Indian Technical Recession", written by Sharad Chandra, asks the following basic question about the quality of engineering education in India:



"So why Indian engineering education system is not capable of producing quality engineers for the country?"



Then the author goes on to answer his own question as follows:



"One of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 19, 2009 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Professor Hoodbhoy's Critique of Higher Education Reform in Pakistan



Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy is a vocal critic of Pakistan's Higher Education Reform initiated by Dr. Ata ur Rahman, adviser to President Musharraf, in 2002. This reform resulted in a fivefold increase in public funding for universities, with a special emphasis on science, technology and engineering. The reform supported initiatives such as a free national digital library… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 5, 2009 at 7:30am — 3 Comments

Appraising Higher Education Reform in Pakistan

Here's an editorial opinion published in Nature Magazine on the status of Pakistan's Higher Education Reform initiated under President Pervez Musharraf in 2002:



Massive funding for Pakistan's ailing universities holds many lessons for other developing nations.



Eight years ago, a task force advising Pakistan's former military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, laid out a bold plan to revitalize the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 4, 2009 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Poor Quality of Higher Education in India and Pakistan



A few top-tier Indian schools, such as the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), are often compared with world-class schools, but the American investors and businesses have finally learned the hard way that there is huge gap between the few tier one schools and the large number of tier two and three schools in India. Other than about 5000 graduates from the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 3, 2009 at 6:00pm — 3 Comments

Pakistan's Dietary Habits and Sugar Crisis



World raw sugar futures hit a 28-year high of 23.52 cents a pound last week as the fears of a bad sugarcane harvest grew stronger. The key background factor is the continuing scarce supply scenario in the global market because of weather factors, particularly in India, the second largest producer of sugarcane, according to the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 2, 2009 at 10:00am — 31 Comments

Memories of Benazir Bhutto

Memories of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto (Part-I)



Benazir wrote in her autobiography, "The Daughter of the East",

"Ziaul Haq, my father's supposedly loyal Army Chief-of-Staff, and the General who had sent his soldiers in the middle of the night to overthrow my father and take over the country by force. Ziaul Haq, the military dictator who had subsequently ailed to crush my father's following in spite of all his guns and tear-gas and martial law regulations, who had failed to… Continue

Added by MasoodBazmi on September 1, 2009 at 11:13am — No Comments

Educational Problems

Zardari to take action on non issuance of posting orders to merit test passed teachers



The test for recruitment, appointments and postings of High School Teachers (HST) was taken in all the districts of Sindh Province on April 24, 2009. Merit test for Junior School Teachers (JST) was taken on the next day on April25, 2009 and for recruiting Primary School Teachers (PST) was taken on April 26, 2009 across the Sindh. The results were declared on the website of the University of Sindh… Continue

Added by MasoodBazmi on September 1, 2009 at 11:12am — No Comments

NY Times Fires Harpoon at Heart of Pak Aid Bill



The New York Times is quoting unnamed senior Obama administration and Congressional officials as claiming that the United States is accusing Pakistan of illegally modifying American-made Harpoon anti-ship missiles to expand its capability to strike land targets, a potential threat to India.



American military and intelligence officials reportedly say they suspect… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 30, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Pakistan Launches Production of Falco Drones

At a ceremony held at the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra, last Thursday, Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan, the chairman of the PAC board, announced the launch of Falco UAV production in Pakistan in collaboration with Selex Galileo of Italy. Speaking on the occasion, the Air Marshal said the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 28, 2009 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Jaswant Acknowledges Quaid-e-Azam MA Jinnah as a "Great Indian"

Jinnah was a great Indian.



Gandhi himself called Jinnah a great Indian. Why don't we recognize that?



Jinnah stood against the might of the Congress party and against the British who didn't really like him.



Jinnah was not against Hindus.



Indian Muslims… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 19, 2009 at 8:55am — 8 Comments

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