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A New Deal For Pakistan

The province of Sindh in southern Pakistan is a rural region of dusty mudbrick villages, of white-domed blue-tiled Sufi shrines, and of salty desert scrublands broken, quite suddenly, by floodplains of wonderful fecundity. These thin, fertile belts of green—cotton fields, rice paddies, cane breaks, and miles of checkerboard mango orchards—snake along the banks of the Indus River as it meanders its sluggish, silted, café-au-lait way through the plains of Pakistan down to the shores of the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on April 2, 2008 at 7:37am — 2 Comments

Gillani Addressing Wheat, Energy Crises

With global commodity prices and inflation hitting new highs, Pakistan and other emerging economies are faced with serious challenges. The rising inflation of staples such as wheat has already claimed Pakistan's former ruling coalition as a victim. Many other developing countries' governments are likely to fall as well unless these challenges are addressed effectively.



Knowing the importance of wheat for Pakistanis, the government of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has begun… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 31, 2008 at 11:10am — No Comments

Iftikhar Chaudhry Is No Angel!

"Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was not and is not an angel" said Mr. Muneer A. Malik, the President of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association, during an interview with Philip Reeves of NPR radio broadcast in the United States last year. This interview took place in 2007 after President Musharraf sacked Mr. Chaudhry and Malik launched a campaign to restore Mr. Chaudhry.



While I strongly disagree with Mr. Musharraf's decision to fire Mr. Chaudhry, I am curious to find out what Mr.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 30, 2008 at 6:25pm — 4 Comments

Hijabs at Harvard Gym

by Ruth Marcus of The Washington Post

It's a measure of America's multicultural journey over the past half-century that we've gone from "God and Man at Yale" to Allah and Woman at Harvard.

In a contretemps scarcely imaginable in William F. Buckley's day, Harvard has closed one of its gyms to men for six hours a week so that Muslim women can exercise comfortably. "Sharia at Harvard," warned blogger Andrew Sullivan. A Harvard Crimson columnist blasted "Harvard's misguided… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 27, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

The New Prime Minister: Khadim or Makhdoom?

Makhdoom Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has been elected and sworn in as the new prime minister of Pakistan. He won by a margin of 264 to 42.





The new prime minister belongs to an influential and spiritual shia family of Multan, born on June 9, 1952 in Karachi, Pakistan. His father was a descendant of Syed Musa Pak, a leading Sufi spiritual figure of Multan of the Qadiri Sufi Order of Shi'a Islam. Syed Musa Pak hailed from the Iranian… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 25, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

The Prophet I Know

As the Muslim world celebrates the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) today, it's important to remember his teachings and the life he lived to learn how to deal with the serious crises Muslims face today. Here is how I remember the Prophet I know from my reading about his life:



Secular Education:

The Prophet I know instructed Muslims to "go as far as China to seek knowledge". It was clear at the time that China was not a Muslim nation. It is therefore safe to… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 21, 2008 at 9:44pm — No Comments

Concerted Campaign Against China

Concerted Campaign Against China

By Riaz Haq

www.riazhaq.com



With China's resurgence on the world stage and its hour of

well-deserved glory approaching at Beijing Olympics this summer, those

opposed to China are out in force to spoil it for the Chinese people.

The efforts to recruit athletes to stage protests in front of the news

media during the Olympics and the recent troubles in Tibet and Western

China do not appear to be spontaneous. The… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 20, 2008 at 10:27am — 1 Comment

Fighting the Twin Crises of Inflation & Power Cuts

As Pakistanis suffer greatly from the twin crises of hyper inflation and prolonged, daily power cuts, the life for them is getting more and more difficult every day. The traditional approaches to solve these problems such as increasing governmental subsidies for food and fuel and building more conventional fossil-fuel based generating capacity are not likely to work cost-effectively and sustain ably in the long run. It is time for Pakistanis to explore creative options to find workable,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 18, 2008 at 7:00am — No Comments

Obama Under Fire For Pastor's Views

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye," Rev. Jeremiah Wright said in a sermon on Sept. 16, 2001. This is not all. Sen Barack Obama's pastor Rev Wright went on to touch the third rail of the American politics: He criticized the US support for Israel against the Palestinians.



"We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans, and now we are indignant… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 15, 2008 at 12:10pm — No Comments

Insights into a Suicide Bombing in Pakistan

While Pakistani authorities have had little success in catching perpetrators in most of the bombings, there have been several arrests in a November suicide attack on a Pakistan Air Force bus near an air base in Sargodha, 120 miles west of Lahore.



According to Associated Press, the probe by police and intelligence agencies into the attack provides insight into how the NWFP-based militant groups function and shows they are attracting recruits in other regions and ethnic… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 13, 2008 at 9:56am — No Comments

Malaysia's Ruling Coalition Suffers Setback

Malaysia's opposition made significant gains in Saturday's elections. The alliance of three opposition parties won 82 of 222 seats in the national Parliament, up from only 19 seats. By controlling one-third of Parliament, opposition parties will be able to block government efforts to amend the constitution. They also took control of five out of 13 states, up from one state previously. They included Penang, home to much of Malaysia's industrial base and to billions of dollars in U.S. and other… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 10, 2008 at 10:12am — No Comments

A Tale of Two Indias: Forty Billionaires In A Poor Country

The booming Bombay stock market in 2007 and the benefits of globalization have seen India's billionaires list swell to 40 on the Forbes Billionaires List. The Indian billionaires combined wealth has more than doubled from $170 billion to $351 billion in 2007. While Bill Gates has slipped to number three spot from number one, the number 4, 5, 6 and 8 spots in the top 10 are now occupied by Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani and KP Singh from India.



The news of the…

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Added by Riaz Haq on March 8, 2008 at 1:30pm — No Comments

Tribal Turmoil in Pakistan

Fundamental Change in Tribal Order

The latest of a series of suicide bombings in Pakistan's north west frontier tribal belt targeted a meeting of the elders in Dara Adam Khel town. There were reports of 40 dead and scores injured. Traditionally, tribal leaders were held in high respect and their decisions were generally accepted by the tribal population in all matters. This attack further reinforces the belief that there is a fundamental change taking… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on March 2, 2008 at 8:00am — 3 Comments

Wheat Price Up 400 Percent

Wheat Price Touches $900 Per Ton

Triggered by wheat export curbs by Kazakhstan and the lowest world inventory in 26 years, wheat price hit a new record at $25 per bushel or about $900 per ton. This translates into Pakistan Rs. 55 per kilo for raw wheat in bulk excluding transportation, milling and bagging. It represents a 400% increase in less than a year. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, Kazakhstan is the sixth-largest exporter of wheat,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 29, 2008 at 10:08am — No Comments

Obama's Web Success

Obama Success With Social Networks

By Riaz Haq

Haq's Musings



Election Campaigns Transformation:

President John F. Kennedy's campaign in the early 1960s transformed the way the US presidential campaigns use Television as a medium to reach the American electorate. This year, Barack Husain Obama's campaign is re-writing the rules as it embraces Web 2.0 technologies to reach out to the young voters across the nation.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 24, 2008 at 4:08pm — 1 Comment

ISI General's Mea Culpa: I Rigged 2002 Polls

ISI General: I Rigged 2002 Polls

By Riaz Haq

Haq's Musings



General Ehtisham Zamir, the former head of ISI's political cell, has admitted playing a key role in rigging the 2002 polls to favor PML(Q), the pro-Musharraf faction of the Pakistan Muslim League. This was a joint effort of the ISI's political cell and the National Accountability Bureau. While it has been considered an open secret by many, this is the first time the ISI's… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 24, 2008 at 8:55am — 1 Comment

Pakistan People's Party's National Character

In addition to winning the largest number of seats in Pakistan's National Assembly, Pakistan People's Party has demonstrated its national appeal by winning seats in all four provincial legislatures. In spite of its losses and third place finish, PML(Q) is the only other party with this distinction. All of the other parties, including the PML(N) with the second place finish, have won seats in only one or two Pakistani provinces.…

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Added by Riaz Haq on February 23, 2008 at 7:17am — No Comments

Zardari Pursued By Swiss Prosecutors

Months after the amnesty signed by President Musharraf, Switzerland is continuing to pursue corruption charges against Mr. Zardari. Asif Zardari, the widower of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is accused of depositing $55 million worth of bribes in Swiss bank accounts. Swiss judicial authorities have been investigating Zardari and Bhutto for the past 10 years over allegations that they took bribes from Swiss cargo inspection firms and transfered them into their accounts,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 21, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Pakistan Vote: Hierarchy of Needs in Action

Many commentators in Pakistan and the World are in overdrive talking about mandates and profound meanings of the February 18 vote in Pakistan. Some are claiming it is a mandate to restore an independent judiciary, media and democracy while others are talking about it as rejection Musharraf's pro-US policies, "extremism" and "war on terror" etc.

In my humble opinion, there is a far simpler explanation for it: People voted in a predictable way based on the issues that affect them directly on… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 20, 2008 at 3:52pm — No Comments

Illegal Immigration From India Jumps 125 Percent

Illegal Immigration From India Jumps 125 Percent

By Riaz Haq

http://riazhaq.blogspot.com



There are an estimated 270,0000 illegal Indian immigrants in the United States, according to 2006 figures from the US Department of Homeland Security. With 125% percent increase from 2000 to 2006, India represents the fastest growing source of illegal immigrants to the United States, reports San Jose Mercury News, a major Silicon Valley newspaper. In absolute numbers, Central and… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2008 at 6:37am — 8 Comments

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    Blog Posts

    The WWF Championship Belt: From Canvas to Canvas

    The WWF Championship belt, beyond its status as a coveted prize in the world of professional wrestling, has also transcended the ring to become a source of inspiration for various art forms. Its iconic design elements and rich history have served as a muse for painters, sculptors, and even digital artists, transforming the championship belt into a canvas for artistic expression.



    A Champion's Canvas: Paintings and…

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    Posted by Ben Qadeer on May 17, 2024 at 5:38am

    Global Baby Bust: Pakistan is A Rare Bright Spot Among Most Populous Nations in Asia

    There is an alarming rapid decline in fertility rates in both developed and developing nations, according to the United Nations.  Here is how the Wall Street Journal describes it: "The world is at a startling demographic milestone. Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep the population constant. It may have already happened". …

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on May 14, 2024 at 9:30am

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