All Blog Posts (1,988)

Orlando Shooting: Is US Gun Lobby Empowering Terrorists?

Yet another tragic mass shooting in America--this time in an Orlando gay night club with the heaviest recorded death toll in a mass shooting in American history. The culprit: Omar Mateen, a young AR-15 high-powered assault-rifle-wielding American-born Muslim reportedly self-radicalized remotely by ISIS via the Internet.

Could the Orlando night club tragedy have been prevented if America had fewer Muslims, as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee …

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Added by Riaz Haq on June 18, 2016 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

Pakistan Announces New Solar Power Feed-in Tariffs

Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has published for public comments its revised feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for solar energy projects of up to 100 MW, according to a report in PV-Tech journal.…

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Added by Riaz Haq on June 16, 2016 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Pakistan's Emerging Market Upgrade

MSCI Pakistan Index will be reclassified to Emerging Markets status, coinciding with the May 2017 Semi-Annual Index Review, according to an MSCI press release on June 14, 2016.

Emerging Market Upgrade:

Pakistan's Karachi Stock Exchange KSE100 Index has rallied 14% in 2016, making it Asia's best performing market so far this year in anticipation of the MSCI…

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Added by Riaz Haq on June 14, 2016 at 5:00pm — 5 Comments

Challenging, Debunking Tarek Fatah's Anti-Pakistan, Anti-Muslim Rhetoric

Tarek Fatah, a Karachi-born Canada-based writer,  is loved in India mainly by Hindu Nationalists for his strong anti-Pakistan and anti-Muslim views. He is warmly welcomed and given lots of praise and attention during his frequent visits to India where his views resonate with those on the extreme right of the Indian political… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 14, 2016 at 1:30pm — 3 Comments

Pakistan's $8.2 Billion Rail Upgrade to Link with China, Russia, Central Asia & Europe

Pakistan government has approved an $ 8.2 billion project to upgrade the 1,872 km Karachi - Peshawar rail track, bridges, tunnels, and culverts, according to International Railway Journal.

The new track will support increased axle load of up to 25 tons, up from 22.8 tons which is now the norm in South Asian countries. The higher axle load capacity will allow heavier freight trains carrying more freight per train for greater trade overland.

China will provide 85%…

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Added by Riaz Haq on June 11, 2016 at 7:30pm — 27 Comments

Has Any Pakistani Leader Ever Received Warm Washington Welcome Like Modi's?

After watching the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's welcome in Washington this week, one of my blog readers asked me the following question: "Has Any Pakistani leader ever received a warm Washington welcome like Modi's?"



The answer is: Yes, President Ayub Khan of Pakistan received a much bigger and…
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Added by Riaz Haq on June 8, 2016 at 8:30pm — 4 Comments

Pakistan Economy & Budget; NIA Pathankot Report; Hillary v Trump

How’s Pakistani economy doing? Is it gaining strength? How are the major economic indicators looking? What are Nawaz Sharif government’s economic priorities? How has it allocated spending in budget 2016-17 presented to National Assembly by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar? Why does Pakistan rely almost entirely on indirect taxation to raise revenue? Why is there such disproportionate burden for revenue placed on… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 5, 2016 at 8:19am — 14 Comments

5 in 5- Lessons in "the" Years of a Professional Life

Please let me know of your valuable feedback on my latest LinkedIn article,

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-5-lessons-years-professional-life-syed-s-javaid?trk=pulse_spock-articles

Added by Syed Shaheer Javaid on June 1, 2016 at 4:27am — No Comments

Nawaz Sharif's Heart Surgery; India Racism; India-Iran Chabahar Deal; Pak IIC on Women

How serious is Prime Ministry Nawaz Sharif's heart condition? What kind of surgery is he undergoing? Is it to fix a hole in his heart caused by prior atrial fibrillation ablation complications he developed during surgery in 2011? What are the risks? How soon can he recover?…



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Added by Riaz Haq on May 28, 2016 at 9:16pm — 3 Comments

Iran's Chabahar vs Pakistan's Gwadar

Chabahar port in Iran is only about 100 miles from Gwadar port in Pakistan. Both are natural deep sea ports in the Arabian sea.…



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Added by Riaz Haq on May 28, 2016 at 10:30am — 68 Comments

Is Hollywood America's Propaganda Ministry?

Some say Hollywood is more powerful than the Pentagon. Others talk about US Military-Entertainment complex. Yet others accuse American media of using language as a tool for mass mind control.

Professor Joseph Nye encapsulates these various elements into what he calls America's soft power. Nye defines soft…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 25, 2016 at 10:20pm — 1 Comment

Sharif's Offshore Co Defense; India Threat to Bangladesh Water; Sykes-Picot Centenary

How was Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's parliament speech defending his family's offshore assets received in Pakistan? Was he perceived as sincere? Was his speech effective? Did it answer the 7 key questions posed to him by the combined Opposition? Or did it raise many more questions than it answered? How will Panama Leaks impact Pakistani politics and governance going forward?…



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Added by Riaz Haq on May 22, 2016 at 7:58am — 5 Comments

Indian River Projects Threaten Bangladesh Water Security

New Delhi is starting massive series of new projects to divert water from major rivers in the north and the east of the country to India's drought-stricken western and southern regions. This news has sounded alarm bells in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, according to the UK's Guardian newspaper.

The $400 billion project involves…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 20, 2016 at 8:00am — 17 Comments

Did the West Sow the Seeds of ISIS?

The Middle East continues to threaten global peace a century after British and French representatives, Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges Picot, signed the Sykes-Picot agreement named after them. This accord, concluded on May 19, 1916, divided the region extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean between the two colonial powers.…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 17, 2016 at 9:13pm — 10 Comments

Pakistanis Make Up Silicon Valley's Largest Foreign-Born Muslim Group

Pakistani-Americans are the largest foreign-born Muslim group in San Francisco Bay Area that includes Silicon Valley, according to a 2013 study. The study was commissioned by the One Nation Bay Area Project, a civic engagement program supported by Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The San Francisco Foundation, Marin Community Foundation and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.

 Overall, US-born Muslims make up the largest percentage at 34% of all Muslims in…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 16, 2016 at 9:00pm — 15 Comments

Trump’s Backtrack on Muslim Ban; India’s Map Law; Pakistan Commission on Corruption

Donald Trump has said his Muslim ban "hasn't been called for yet" and it was "only a suggestion". Is the presumptive Republican nominee for president backing away from his call "for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States"? If so, why? Has the Republican party helped him understand how the GOP's dog-whistle campaigns work? Will Trump's racism and…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 15, 2016 at 8:00am — 3 Comments

Eight Non-Muslim Leaders in Muslim Majority Countries

Are there any non-Muslims in leadership positions in majority Muslim countries? This question is being repeatedly asked by many after the historic election of a British Pakistani Muslim Sadiq Khan as London's mayor.

The answer is: There are at least 8. Here's a brief list as reported in UK's …

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 11, 2016 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Republican Party's Racist Politics Produced Donald Trump

Is today's Republican Party still the party of Abraham Lincoln, the celebrated American president who fought the American civil war to end slavery in 1860s? How could the rank-and-file members of this party vote overwhelmingly for a racist xenophobic demagogue like Donald Trump?…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 9, 2016 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Will Trump Learn From Zac Goldsmith's Defeat at the Hands of British Muslim Sadiq Khan?

British Pakistani Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan of London told Londoners in his historic victory speech after the official confirmation of his landslide win that “I’m so proud that London has today chosen hope over fear and unity over division”…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 7, 2016 at 9:30pm — 3 Comments

Are Londoners Ready to Make History By Electing Pakistani British Muslim Mayor?

Opinion polls conducted a day before the May 5 London mayoral election are showing a 20-point lead for Labor Party's British Pakistani Muslim mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan over his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith, brother of Imran Khan's ex-wife Jemima Khan. Is London ready to make history?…

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Added by Riaz Haq on May 4, 2016 at 8:00pm — No Comments

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    Blog Posts

    Trump's Tariffs on India: Can China or Russia Make Up For Lost Exports to US?

    The United States is the biggest export market for India. Among its top 5 trading partners, the US is also the only country with which India runs a trade surplus. This surplus is now at risk with the 50% tariff recently imposed by President Donald Trump on imports from India. Can Prime Minister Narendra make up for it by cozying up to China and Russia? Recent trade data shows he…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2025 at 7:00pm

    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

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