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The Bhutto Clan





The Bhutto family, sitting left to right in back row: Nusrat, Shahnawaz, Zulifiqar Ali, Sanam. In front, Murtaza and… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 23, 2011 at 6:33pm — No Comments

More Pakistani Students Studying Abroad

Although the growth in the total number Pakistanis studying abroad has slowed since the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001 in the United States, the world's sixth most populous nation continues to be among the leading sources of foreign students in America, Europe, Australia and new emerging higher education destinations in Asia.…
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Added by Riaz Haq on October 21, 2011 at 10:30pm — 56 Comments

America's High-Tech Warfare Against Pakistan?

After a reportedly successful US-Israeli stux-net cyber attack on Iranian nuclear installations last year, there is now a report in the New York Times that the Obama administration has considered deploying cyber warfare against Pakistan as well.



The New York Times quotes unnamed US… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 19, 2011 at 10:57am — 12 Comments

India Lags Sub-Saharan Africa in Public Hygiene

India's rivers have been turned into open sewers by 638 million Indians without access to toilets, according to rural development minister Jairam Ramesh. He was reacting a UNICEF report that says Indians make up 58% of the world population which… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 7, 2011 at 10:53am — 52 Comments

High Quality Stanford Education Via Internet

Here's a NY Times opinion piece by Bill Keller on technology disrupting the higher education model of elite brick-and-mortar universities like Stanford:



...one of Stanford’s most inventive professors, Sebastian Thrun, is making an alternative claim on the future. Thrun, a German-born and largely self-taught expert in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 3, 2011 at 5:30pm — 1 Comment

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 — 31 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 — 56 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 — 119 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 — 41 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 — 33 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 — 33 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

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    Blog Posts

    Solar Energy Revolution Sparks Battery Boom in Pakistan

    After installing over 50 GW of solar panels as of early 2026, Pakistanis are now adding batteries at a rapid pace. The country has imported nearly 7.6 GWh of batteries, with nearly 60% of that total arriving during 2025 alone. Pakistanis are now installing batteries at a rate exceeding 5 GWh annually, according to a recent report by Renewable First. Batteries enable consumers to store excess solar electricity generated during daylight hours for use at night and to smooth out…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2026 at 5:30pm

    Will the Mecca Pact Deter Attacks Against Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey?

    Pakistan has historically enjoyed close friendly ties with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. So why did the three nations feel the need to formalize these ties with a mutual defense agreement in Mecca this week? Many answers to this question can all be traced to a fundamental change in the security environment in the Middle East. Foremost among these changes is the extremely reckless behavior of the state of Israel which has had full political, military, economic and diplomatic backing of the…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2026 at 12:00pm — 10 Comments

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