Pakistan's fiscal year 2015-16 saw production of motorcycles soar to a new high of over 2 million units. This represents a 16.5% surge from last year.  At the same time, passenger cars and light trucks sales rose to over 200,000 in fiscal 2016, a 20% jump over the same period last year.…

“Efforts to duck or refuse legitimate scrutiny raise an obvious question: What, precisely, are you hiding from us?....States may shut my office out, but they will not shut us up. Neither will they blind us.”   Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, to India, as quoted by New…

Pakistanis are spending about $3.5 billion on Eid ul Azha this year, according to analysts. This includes $2.8 billion worth of livestock and another $700 million on clothes,  shoes, jewelry and various services. This amount represent a huge transfer of wealth…

How did Gurdaspur, an overwhelming Muslim majority district of Punjab, end up in India?

What was its significance for Kashmir? What role did Nehru and Abdullah play in Kashmir prior to the war of 1965?…

Little Pakistan, a tiny community of Pakistani immigrants located just a few miles away from the World Trade Center, drew a lot of negative attention when the twin towers came crashing down in September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 



The tragic events of 911 sparked a wave of …

This year's annual convention of alumni of Karachi's NED University of Engineering & Technology (NEDUET) held in Houston, Texas over Labor Day weekend drew more than 500 NEDians from all over North America and the rest of the world.

Among others, it was attended by US Congressman Al Green from Texas and the Vice Chancellor of NED…

Thar, one of the least developed regions of Pakistan, is seeing unprecedented development activity in energy and infrastructure projects.  New roads, airports and buildings are being built along with coal mines and power plants. There are construction workers and machinery visible everywhere in the desert. Along with renewed hopes for the region and its people, development boom is also raising concerns about the environment and its impact on the residents.…

Why is India's Hindu leadership so paranoid about Pakistan and Pakistanis?   Let us examine the source of India's Pakistan phobia by looking at a series of events in South Asia and various statements made by analysts, strategists and Hindu leaders across the political spectrum.

While the Muslim League led by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah accepted the British Cabinet Mission's plan of May 16, 1946 to grant broad autonomy to states within united India,…

Pakistan's travel and tourism industry is booming with significant improvement in security situation. In 2015, it contributed 7% of Pakistan's GDP.  It includes foreign and domestic travel and tourism spending or employment in the equivalent economy-wide concept in the published national income accounts or labour market…

Some of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's supporters claim that his "Make in India" campaign has brought India to the verge of becoming a manufacturing behemoth 69 years after the nation's independence. Others claim India is already a manufacturing powerhouse. Let's examine these claims based on data.

Manufacturing Ranking:

While India now ranks 6th in the world in terms of total manufacturing output, it still sits at a very low 142nd position terms of…

Pakistan's energy consumption grew by 5.7% in 2015, faster than the 5.2% increase in neighboring India that claims significantly faster GDP growth. Primary energy consumption growth in a country is often seen as a strong indicator of its GDP growth. Ever since the advent of the industrial age, energy has become increasingly important as a driver of farms, factories, communication, transportation,…

Could Qandeel Baloch, also known as Pakistan's Kim Kardashian, even be imagined in conservative Pakistan just a few years ago? Doesn't the fact that she existed is in itself a sign of a social revolution sweeping Pakistan today?

Tragic honor killing of Pakistani social media phenomenon Qandeel Baloch by her own brother in the city of Multan in highly conservative Seraiki region has received…

My sister and I and our families bid a tearful goodbye to my loving mother Rafiqa Khatoon (1922-2016) yesterday,  July 11, 2016. Our extended family and many of our friends joined us for her funeral service at the Islamic Society of East Bay and later burial at Five Pillars Muslim Cemetery.…