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Is Democracy Overrated?

"Normally they (Six members of India's Parliament) are in jail, serving time for crimes ranging from extortion and kidnapping to murder. The Indian constitution allows them out on bail to attend important parliamentary votes. But the sight of convicted murderers entering the parliamentary chamber won't be the most edifying of spectacles." So says a BBC report this morning.



In the wake of the Communist Party's pull-out… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 20, 2008 at 11:30am — 9 Comments

What Do the Taliban Want?

News headlines from Pakistan's tribal belt proclaim a new "Peace Deal" with "militants" along with an appeal for the Shia victims of the Kurram agency blockade imposed by the Taliban. On the surface, these two developments seem disconnected.



The News Headlines:

The "Peace Deal" involves a leading militant in Pakistan's Khyber region, Mangal Bagh, and the local administration to end nearly two weeks of fighting, according to the BBC.



Another BBC report indicates that… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 10, 2008 at 3:04pm — 4 Comments

The Smoking Gun in Pakistan Nuke Transfers

In his first public assertions since Pakistan's disgraced hero Dr. A.Q. Khan was put under house, the nuclear scientist has said, "It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment (centrifuges). It must have gone with [Musharraf's] consent."



This marks the first time that Mr. Khan has directly implicated President Musharraf and Pakistan Army in proliferation of Pakistan's nuclear technology.



Mr. Khan's latest statements contradict… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 5, 2008 at 9:33pm — No Comments

Peshawar, Kandahar under Threat of Resurgent Taliban

As the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan and the new government in Pakistan find themselves in policy disagreements and total disarray, with Hamid Karzai playing the spoiler, the resurgent Taliban appear to be preparing for the takeover of major cities on both sides of the border: Kandahar in Afghanistan and Peshawar in Pakistan. This is something that would have been considered unthinkable just a few months ago. The concern until recently was focused on the tribal areas of Pakistan. Now the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 1, 2008 at 7:19am — No Comments

Manekshaw: Indian War Hero Passes On

Sam Hormusji Framji "Sam Bahadur" Jamshedji Manekshaw MC (April 3, 1914 – June 27, 2008) Passed away today in Tamil Nadu, India. He was an Indian Army officer, with his distinct handlebar mustache, and only one of two generals to reach the rank of the Field Marshal in the Indian Army. He was the last of the top commanders involved in Bangladesh war of 1971.



In his long career spanning nearly four decades, Manekshaw rose to be the 8th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969 and… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 28, 2008 at 9:09am — No Comments

Bunge Coming to Pakistan

By Riaz Haq



Bunge, the third biggest US agribusiness company after

Archer-Daniel-Midland and Cargill, is buying Chicago-based Corn

Products International Inc. for $4.2 billion in stock to add

corn-based sweeteners as demand increases for soft drinks and

processed foods in China, India and Pakistan, according to US media

reports. This acquisition enlarges Bunge's international footprint in

emerging economies to drive its growth.



Corn Products… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 24, 2008 at 5:04pm — 1 Comment

OPEN Forum 2008: Pakistani Entrepreneurs Conference

On June 14, the SAP campus in Palo Alto was the venue for OPEN Forum 2008, probably the world's largest gathering of Pakistani entrepreneurs outside of Pakistan with over 500 attendees. Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) describes itself as "a voluntary, not-for profit organization dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship and leadership in the Pakistani-American business community". Only a stone-throw away from Sandhill Road, the home of the big Silicon Valley venture… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 21, 2008 at 10:54am — No Comments

Venture Capital Investing in Pakistan

As the US venture capital investment activity in India and China races ahead, the VC investments in Pakistan are just beginning to show signs of life with two young Pakistani companies receiving funding in late 2006 and middle of 2007.



Venture capital investment in China was up to $719m across 39 deals during the first quarter of 2008 from $492m in the first quarter of 2007, with media and advertising companies accounting for the bulk of deal activity and investment, according to the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 15, 2008 at 7:19pm — 4 Comments

The Long March or the Big Farce?

As the "Long March" by the Pakistani lawyers gets headlines in Pakistan and around the world, it is natural to ask what is all the fuss about? Ostensibly, it is to restore Pakistani judiciary as an independent and powerful institution and strengthen democracy. But is this a realistic expectation that an independent, powerful judiciary supported by lawyers and the media in Pakistan would be good for democracy and the rights of the average citizen? Let's look at the following facts to answer this… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 10, 2008 at 9:30am — No Comments

Karachi: The Urban Frontier

National Public Radio(NPR), an American radio network, is doing a series on a massive wave of urbanization underway in the world's emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India and Pakistan. It has chosen to start with Karachi, which it describes as Pakistan's "economic lifeline" and financial "powerhouse" that produces 25% of Pakistan's GDP, and calls it "one of the largest and most crowded cities of the world". It has a segment on Shehri, the activist group fighting big-money… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 5, 2008 at 1:00pm — 3 Comments

OPEN Forum 2008 in Silicon Valley

Along with Howard Dean, Steve Westley and Mike Moritz, several

prominent Silicon Valley NEDians are speakers and/or panelists at the

OPEN Forum 2008, the annual conference organized by Organization of

Pakistani Entrepreneurs (http://www.opensiliconvalley.org). It is

scheduled for Saturday, June 14, 2008 in Palo Alto, CA.



Mike Moritz, the Iconic Venture Capitalist who saw YouTube and Google

coming, will tell you what the next major trends are in high tech… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on June 2, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Should Pakistanis be Proud of Their Country?

On the day of our departure for Jeddah, with our bags packed and goodbyes dispensed with, our group found itself together at the coffee shop of the hotel. There each one of us talked about whether this trip had changed our opinions of Pakistan and its people.



This is a country of about 160 million people scattered about four provinces and Azad Kashmir. As the world's fifth largest democracy, Pakistan has had its share of questionable leadership, but there is enough evidence that the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 26, 2008 at 6:45am — No Comments

Sharia in Swat: Is This Appeasement?

Under a peace deal signed by the NWFP provincial government, the authorities say they will withdraw security forces and allow the pro-Taliban militants to impose Sharia law in Swat in return for promises to close training camps and end attacks. This is particularly astonishing as it involves secular nationalists of the Awami National Party that trounced the right wing JUI party in the last elections.



This announcement by Senior Minister of NWFP Bashir Ahmad Bilour followed a… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 21, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Sixty Years of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Yawm al-nakba (The Catastrophe) and Yom Ha'atzmaut (The Independence Day) occur on May 14 each year. But this year is the 60th anniversary of the events of May 14, 1948 that the Israelis celebrate as their independence day and the Palestinians recall the horrors of massacres of Palestinians and expulsions from their homes in what is now the state of Israel.



For a long time, the Israeli textbooks have either not mentioned or completely denied any violence and forced expulsions of…

Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 17, 2008 at 8:30am — 5 Comments

Food Crisis: Opportunity For Entrepreneurs

As the world food crisis becomes acute, entrepreneurs see opportunities to tackle it and make big money. Such efforts could give a much-needed boost to feed the growing population of the world. For years, big agribusiness companies have used new seed and fertilizer varieties to push yields higher. But as technology gains have slowed, the search for additional arable land has intensified. That's created an opening for entrepreneurs with visions of re-collectivizing the land in former communist… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 14, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Mobile Internet in Pakistan

When Intel puts its weight behind an initiative, it automatically gets a boost. But when Google and Intel together join forces, no one in their right mind can bet against such a combined force. Mobile Internet with broadband access has achieved that inevitability with Google backing a Wimax joint venture between wireless veteran Craig McCaw's Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel. In addition to Intel and Google, this venture is also supported by Comcast and Time-Warner.



As the world goes… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 8, 2008 at 10:03pm — No Comments

India Racing Ahead in Space

"The mission was perfect," said G Madhavan Nair, chairman of the state-run Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Mr. Nair was celebrating the latest successful launch by India of a mission with 10 satellites from the Sriharikota space center off India's east coast.



This latest success by ISRO makes India a serious contender in the fast growing $2.5B commercial satellite launch business expected to grow rapidly over the next several years. The BBC is reporting that the rocket… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 28, 2008 at 8:00am — 6 Comments

Food Price Inflation Hits Silicon Valley

Food Price Hikes Hit Silicon Valley

By Riaz Haq

www.riazhaq.com



The prices of rice, chappati, besan, daals, spices and almost all staples consumed by silicon valley South Asians have experienced triple digit price inflation during the last year. After reading about food price inflation and shortages of staple foods in their home countries, Pakistanis and Indians are now feeling the pinch in Silicon Valley as Basmati rice is in very short supply even with a 300% price jump.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 26, 2008 at 10:03pm — No Comments

Pakistan's New Era of Unchecked Corruption?

As Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and Mr. Nawaz Sharif together consolidate their power in Pakistan, there are renewed fears that a new era of of unchecked corruption is about to hit Pakistan. Let's hope that these fears are unfounded. Unfortunately, the history tells us otherwise.



In the past, Pakistanis have had to withstand plunder from only one of them at a time. The question now is: Can Pakistan survive a combined assault by both of these "gentlemen" and their cabinet ministers in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 18, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Lawyers Movement Gone Awry!

"If they demand that the Afghan refugees be returned to Afghanistan, we demand that they (the Urdu-speaking Karachi-ites) be sent back to India" so says Mr. Latif Afridi, the President of Peshawar Bar Association. This outrage from Peshawar followed the clashes between the lawyers in Karachi which were triggered by the violence of the lawless lawyers of Lahore earlier.



The lawyers movement started well and helped bring about a positive change in Pakistan as a manifestation of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 14, 2008 at 6:20pm — No Comments

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    Blog Posts

    International Schools: Pakistan Ranks Among Top 5 Countries in the World

    Pakistan ranks among the top 5 nations in terms of international schools offering schooling based on International Baccalaureate (IB) and IGCSE (Cambridge) curricula. China leads with 1,000 international schools, followed by India (900), UAE (784), Pakistan (598) and Brazil (415). The medium of instruction in these schools is English. …
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    Posted by Riaz Haq on April 19, 2025 at 8:00am

    Pakistan Minerals Investment Forum Draws Interest of Global Investors

    Pakistan's mineral resources, estimated to be over $6 trillion, attracted global investor interest at the Pakistan Minerals Investors Forum 2025 (PMIF2025) held recently in Islamabad on April 8th and 9th. It was attended by major international companies and government officials from Australia, Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, the US and other nations. …

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on April 12, 2025 at 11:30am — 3 Comments

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