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Pakistani-American Princeton economist Atif Mian was named to Pakistan Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council and then promptly let go because of his Ahmadi faith. Two other economists Harvard's Professor Asim Khwaja and University College London's Imran Rasool have since quit the council in protest over Atif's removal.
Princeton Economics Prof Atif Mian |
Is Atif Mian's removal a victory of bigotry over meritocracy promised by Imran Khan? Was it a mistake to name him and even bigger mistake to remove him? Did the PTI government underestimate strong reactions to the appointment and subsequent back-tracking? Was PTI caught off-guard by tweets such as "liberal" PPP leader Shehla Raza's tweet attacking Imran Khan for picking "the great grandson of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani" as top economic advisor?
Would PTI's refusal to remove Atif Mian lead to derailment of the entire PTI's anti-corruption and reform agenda? Should Imran Khan be applauded or criticized for taking such political risks? Does Imran Khan realize that he lacks sufficient political capital for such risks? What message does it send about the limits of Imran Khan's capacity to bring about change in Pakistani society?
PPP Leader Shehla Raza's Tweet Attacking Imran Khan for picking "great grandson of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani" |
What can political leaders do to lead the people to greater tolerance of differences and acceptance of diversity in Pakistan? What must educators, mass media and civil society do to move Pakistan toward Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah's vision of an inclusive and tolerant Pakistan?
Azad Labon Kay Sath host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions with Sabahat Ashraf and Riaz Haq
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Gita Gopinath and #India’s Brain Drain. High-profile #IMF chief economist and other western-trained #Indian economists no longer appear welcome in Narendra #Modi’s government. https://www.wsj.com/articles/gita-gopinath-and-indias-brain-drain-1...
Harvard professor Gita Gopinath’s appointment as chief economist of the International Monetary Fund raises a question about her native India: Is IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde more likely than Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hire someone with Ms. Gopinath’s stellar academic credentials?
In the past two years, three high-profile Western-trained economists have exited important policy-making positions in India to return to academia in the U.S. A rising drumbeat of nativist sentiment, increased political interference...
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Recent data shows that there are nearly 10,000 Pakistani students attending colleges and universities in Germany. This figure is second only to the United Kingdom which issued over 35,000 student visas to Pakistanis in 2024. The second most popular destination for Pakistani students is Australia which is hosting nearly 24,000 students from Pakistan as of 2023, according to the ICEF…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on July 15, 2025 at 9:00am
While the Israeli weapons supplied by the "civilized" West are destroying the lives and limbs of thousands of Gaza's innocent children, a Pakistani startup is trying to provide them with free custom-made prostheses, according to media reports. The Karachi-based startup Bioniks was founded in 2016 and has sold prosthetics that use AI and 3D scanning for custom designs. …
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on July 8, 2025 at 9:30pm
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