The Global Social Network
The role of money in elections and politics is generally known and understood around the world. Pakistan is no exception. In a recent book entitled "The Bhutto Dynasty" written by veteran British journalist Owen Bennet Jones, the author describes how former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto saw "kickbacks" as an essential part of politics. Jones says that the "amnesty she (Benazir Bhutto) secured from…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 26, 2020 at 11:30am — 14 Comments
Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is believed to have started as a small fishing village named Kolachi in 1729. It attracted the attention of the colonial rulers in 1857 as a suitable site for a major port in British India. Thus began the story of Karachi which has now grown into a megacity of 14,910,352 people, as reported in the most recent 2017 Census of…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 24, 2020 at 6:00pm — 12 Comments
Pakistan's technology export growth is continuing to accelerate with a 51% jump in November 2020 over the same month in 2019. The country's tech exports rose 39% in the first 5 months (July-Nov) of fiscal year 2021 over the same period last year. This came on top of a 21% increase in FY 2020 over FY 2019. …
Added by Riaz Haq on December 22, 2020 at 6:30pm — 7 Comments
Prominent Pakistani journalist and political analyst Najam Sethi, a strong critic of Prime Minister Imran Khan, sees desperation among the Pakistani Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders. In a recent interview with well-known journalists Raza Rumi and Murtaza Solangi on Naya Daur social media channel, Sethi said the Pakistani opposition, particularly PMLN, believe it is "now or never" for…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 15, 2020 at 8:00am — 14 Comments
Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has launched a Cognitive Electronic Warfare (CEW) program at its Center for Artificial Intelligence and Computing (CENTAIC), according to media reports. Modern connected weapon systems generate vast amounts of data requiring artificial intelligence and machine learning software for speedy analysis and rapid decision-making on the battlefield. …
Added by Riaz Haq on December 11, 2020 at 5:00pm — 55 Comments
United States Air Force's legendary pilot Charles Yeager died on December 7, 2020 at the age of 97. He was a highly decorated soldier who was also awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award. He remained active on twitter until very recently. In a 2017 tweet, Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world". In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt". …
ContinueCRISPR CAS9 is the latest revolutionary gene editing technology to take the world by a storm. Pakistan is among a select group of nations where scientists are publishing their work on CRISPR in international journals. In fact, Brazil, China, India, Iran and Pakistan are the only developing nations listed among the countries where scientists published CRISPR research in 2018. The rest of the list is made up of highly developed countries of North America, Europe and East Asia. A…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 8, 2020 at 6:00pm — 10 Comments
Pakistan led South Asia region and ranked 4th in the world in infrastructure investment commitments in the first half of 2020, according to World Bank's "Private Participation in Infrastructure" report for the first half on the year 2020. Mexico led the pack with $4,016 million, followed by Brazil 2nd with $3,543 million, China 3rd with $2,859 million, Pakistan 4th with $1,921 million and India 5th with $1,762 million in private infrastructure investment commitments in the first 6 months of…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 6, 2020 at 10:00am — 2 Comments
Feverish spinning by pro-Opposition media spinmeisters suggests that BBC's Hard Talk host Stephen Sackur has done serious damage to the Pakistani Opposition's narrative about the Army and democracy in the country. By his aggressive questioning of Ishaq Dar, former Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's close associate, Sackur has not only dismantled the Opposition parties' narrative but also clearly established that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is a …
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on December 3, 2020 at 11:30am — 8 Comments
Stanford University has ranked 243 Pakistani scientists among the world's top 2% scientists for 2019. Among them are 81 Pakistani professors who are recognized in the lifetime research work list of 160,000 scientists.
Stanford… |
Added by Riaz Haq on November 24, 2020 at 12:00pm — 4 Comments
Defense analysts believe that Turkish and Israeli drones have helped Azerbaijan achieve decisive victory against Armenia. "Azerbaijan’s drones owned the battlefield in Nagorno-Karabakh — and showed future of warfare" says the Washington Post headline as tweeted by drone warfare expert Franz-Stefan Gady.…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on November 13, 2020 at 1:30pm — 39 Comments
With several major brands moving production to Pakistan amid the COVID19 pandemic, the country's exports have grown at a faster pace than those of Bangladesh and India, according to Bloomberg News. Pakistan's total textile shipments rose 7% in September, compared with India’s 6% and Bangladesh’s 3.5%. …
Added by Riaz Haq on October 31, 2020 at 4:30pm — 11 Comments
Convicted money launderer Altaf Khanani and his patrons among Pakistani politicians appear to have brought FATF's attention to Pakistan when the country was first put on its grey list back in 2012. A new national financial crimes bill was introduced by the ruling Pakistan People's Party which was so full of holes that a senior FIA official complained publicly it was "drafted by a money-launderer". Khanani is believed to have moved over $12 billion a year of dirty money through Pakistani…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 24, 2020 at 10:00am — 7 Comments
Per capita milk consumption in Pakistan reached 231 liters (231 Kg) in 2019, according to a new research report entitled ‘Asia – Whole Fresh Milk – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights’. It has almost doubled from 119 liters per person in 2011. Milk production in Pakistan is the second…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 22, 2020 at 10:00am — 15 Comments
Former Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif has alleged that the Pakistan Army Chief and the ISI leader orchestrated his conviction on corruption charges and his subsequent ouster. In a clear departure from prior allegations against "the establishment", Mr. Sharif has named names of the chiefs of the Army and the ISI in his anti-military address over the telephone from London to a joint opposition rally in Gujranwala. Where does he go from here? Is he following in the footsteps of MQM founder…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 19, 2020 at 1:50pm — 9 Comments
Speaking with Fareed Zakaria on US cable news network CNN, former US Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers told Zakaria's audience that "if the US had handled the pandemic as well as Pakistan, we would have saved around $10 trillion ".
Ex US Treasury… |
Added by Riaz Haq on October 18, 2020 at 9:00am — 3 Comments
Global food prices are soaring by double digits amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Bloomberg News. Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex, a measure of key farm goods futures contracts, is up almost 20% since June. It may in part be driven by speculators in the commodities markets. These rapid price rises…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 14, 2020 at 7:30pm — 6 Comments
On October 12, 1999, Pakistani military toppled democratically elected Prime Minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. This action followed the Prime Minister's sudden decision to sack Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf and the Prime Minister's simultaneous orders to deny landing permission to the Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 777-200 that was bringing the Army Chief…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 12, 2020 at 10:00am — 18 Comments
In his recently published book entitled "The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous", Harvard Professor Joseph Henrich argues that western democracy and prosperity in America and Europe can be traced back to the Catholic Church's ban on cousin marriages and polygamy. These bans promoted individualism and created what is now known as a "nuclear family". Cousin marriages and strong kinship remain prevalent in present-day Pakistan,…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 9, 2020 at 10:30am — 9 Comments
In a recent article entitled "Is Pakistan really handling the pandemic better than India", The Economist says Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has "crowed" about his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. It also cites an Indian-American professor who says "test not, find not" to raise questions about Pakistan's coronavirus data. Conspicuously absent from the article is any emphasis on the covid19 test "…
ContinueAdded by Riaz Haq on October 7, 2020 at 10:30am — 7 Comments
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In a campaign speech on May 1, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi bragged about his campaign of transnational assassinations of individuals he has labeled "terrorists". “Today, India doesn't send dossiers to the masters of terrorism, but gives them a dose and kills them on their home turf", he is reported to have said, according to a tweet posted by his BJP party. Last…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on May 3, 2024 at 5:09pm — 2 Comments
Samsung is seeing strong demand for its locally assembled Galaxy S24 smartphones and tablets in Pakistan, according to Bloomberg. The company said it is struggling to meet demand. Pakistan’s mobile phone industry produced 21 million handsets while its smartphone imports surged over 100% in the last fiscal year, according to …
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on April 26, 2024 at 7:09pm
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