Riaz Haq's Blog (1,650)

Search Blog Posts

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:…

Continue

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

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

Three Summer Days in Beijing



My family and I arrived on a Saturday evening in late July at Beijing's international airport's beautiful and spacious terminal 3, the new massive glass and steel structure that was opened just prior to last year's Summer Olympics in the city. I did not see it when I visited Beijing… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2009 at 9:05am — 6 Comments

Karachi in July 2009





Arrival in Karachi



My family and I arrived at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday in mid-July, 2009, after a short flight from Dubai in the afternoon. Our arrival was an hour later than scheduled. The disembarkation from the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2009 at 8:44am — 3 Comments

Dubai in July



My family and I stopped in Dubai for a three-day vacation in July on our way to Pakistan from the United States. As I was planning the Dubai stopover, a friend of mine who maintains an apartment in Dubai for his frequent business trips there heard about it, and offered to me the use of his apartment and his driver for the duration of our stay. This friendly gesture… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 2, 2009 at 11:00am — 1 Comment

Science, Discovery and Daydreams



Much is often made of logic, methodical reasoning and rationality in Science, but it seems from the latest research about human mind that the actual process of… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 22, 2009 at 9:08pm — No Comments

Obama, Scientific Discoveries and the Muslim World

Speaking to the Muslim world from Cairo recently, President Barack Hussein Obama talked about the contribution of Islamic civilization to the world of science and discovery. He said, “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam — at places like Al-Azhar University — that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 10, 2009 at 10:01pm — 2 Comments

Silicon Valley's Pakistani-Americans Support Pakistan's Human Development



The Human Development Foundation (HDF) held its sixth annual benefit dinner at the Wyndham Hotel in San Jose, CA, yesterday, May 30, 2009. The dinner attracted about 500 attendees. In spite of the down economy and rising unemployment in the high-tech valley, the event exceeded… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 1, 2009 at 12:19pm — No Comments

Young Pakistanis Lead By Public Service Example

Alongside the usual negative and depressing coverage about Pakistan that fills the electronic media and newsprint in the West these days, I am really happy to see a rare but hopeful and inspiring story from Lahore about public service and volunteerism in today's New York Times. The youth group epitomizes what it means to be a… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 18, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Loose NBC Weapons in Pakistan?



"Imagine if the (swine flu) spread were intentional, not natural, and the virus’ lethality had been artificially enhanced. Pakistan has many dangerous diseases and pathogens under its control. The Nunn-Lugar program can help secure the pathogen strains to ensure they do not fall into the wrong hands. Equally important, the U.S. can assist Pakistan in establishing a system… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 16, 2009 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Monthly Archives

2026

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

Pre-Paid Legal


Twitter Feed

    follow me on Twitter

    Live Traffic Feed


    Sponsored Links

    South Asia Investor Review
    Investor Information Blog

    Haq's Musings
    Riaz Haq's Current Affairs Blog

    Please Bookmark This Page!




    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…

    Continue

    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…

    Continue

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

    © 2026   Created by Riaz Haq.   Powered by

    Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service