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Celebrating the Life of a Genuine Pakistani-American Hero

My friend Tariq Khanzada died in a tragic accident in the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 12, 2011. He is survived by his wife Ruby, two sons and a daughter.







I knew Tariq to be a genuinely friendly and helpful individual. I will always remember his beautiful smile. His death is a real shock to me and the rest of the Pakistani-American… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 13, 2011 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Pakistani-American's 3D Sensor Technology Wows Xbox Gamers

Walking into the local Fry's stores in Silicon Valley during Christmas shopping season, I was fascinated by the latest Xbox 360 demo complete with excited kids dancing in front of a big screen wth a 3D sensor mounted on top of it.



Upon closer examination, I learned that Microsoft Xbox 360 has acquired a few new game-changing tricks thanks to the use of the amazing 3D gensture recognition technology from Canesta, a company co-founded in 2002 by my… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 6, 2011 at 2:40pm — No Comments

Pakistan's Other Story: Explosion in Arts and Literature in 2010

Have you ever wondered if Pakistan is really as one-dimensional a country as stereotyped by the negative torrent of international media coverage that dominated the news headlines in 2010?



Have you ever thought that Pakistanis engage in any pursuits other than as perpetrators or victims of terror that the journalists find the most newsworthy about the world's sixth most populous South Asian nation?



Well, an Indian-American producer Madhlika Sikka on NPR's Talk of the Nation… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on January 1, 2011 at 9:47am — 23 Comments

Is Saudi Arabia Ready For Reform?

Saudi society has long been dominated by the overzealous religious police, known as mutawa or mutaween, who strictly enforce the Saudi version of the Islamic Sharia Laws. The most visible manifestations of such enforcement include the almost total gender segregation, conservative dress code in public, and interruption of business for prayers five times a day.



There are some recent signs that the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 14, 2010 at 4:46pm — 4 Comments

FBI Framing Young Muslims in Phony Terror Plots?

The FBI has intensified its pursuit of "home-grown" terrorists, allegedly foiling scores of plots around the United States since 9/11 terrorist attacks in America. The question now being increasingly asked is: Would there be many such terror plots to foil without government informants used to create them?



It is believed that foreign-born nationals are easy to recruit as FBI's confidential informats (CIs). If they get reported for any reason by any one and found to have any… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on December 8, 2010 at 8:30am — 3 Comments

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy Versus Dr. Ata-ur-Rehman Khan-----Bogus Science or Personal Vendetta?

Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy has continued his animus toward Dr. Ata through a piece in Dawn titled "A Case of Bogus Science". In this piece, Hoodbhoy accuses Ata-u-Rehman of engaging in "bogus science" by asking in his recent paper on HAARP: “Is the HAARP then, a harmless research tool — or a weapon of mass destruction far more lethal than nuclear weapons? We may never know.”



I think Dr. Ata is well within the realm of science in speculating… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on November 18, 2010 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Indian Propaganda Brainwashing the Poor in India

A recent Pew Global Attitudes survey shows that 85% of Indians are satisfied with their government's performance, particularly its handling of the economy. Only the Chinese and Brazilians are more satisfied with their economic situation among the 22 countries included in the survey.



India, a nation which has the dubious distinction of being home to the world's largest population of poor, hungry,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on November 12, 2010 at 11:00pm — 11 Comments

India's Information Technology Sector Dwarfed by Textiles

About 60% of India's workforce is in agriculture. Textile industry is the second biggest employer, accounting for a fifth of India’s exports, and employs almost 10 percent of India’s workforce, or some 35 million people, and has the potential to add another 12 million new jobs --dwarfing the 1-2 million jobs created by the much-heralded IT and BPO sector, according to a…

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Added by Riaz Haq on October 30, 2010 at 8:30am — 4 Comments

Are Diseases and Malnutrition Lowering IQs in South Asia?

Poverty, hunger, unsanitary or unsafe conditions and inadequate health care in South Asia's developing nations are exposing their citizens to high risk of a variety of diseases which may impact their intelligence. Every year, World Health… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 25, 2010 at 9:28am — 2 Comments

Pakistan Cut Poverty and Hunger in Musharraf Years 2000-2008

Poverty and hunger often go together. The affordability of food is usually a bigger issue than its availability in most poor nations, according to research published by Indian-born economist and Nobel Laureate Dr. Amartya Sen. With few exceptions, rising incomes and reductions in poverty rates are known to lead to lower hunger levels.



Pakistan experienced significant declines in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 17, 2010 at 10:08am — 3 Comments

Do Pakistani Students Lack Abstract Knowledge, Critical Thinking Skills?

Here are some excerpts from a Friday Times Op Ed by University of Wisconsin's Dr Howard Schweber who

taught students at a private university in Lahore, Pakistan and found them bright, resourceful and highly confused. He particularly singles out lack of general education and consequent lack of critical thinking skills as problems:



My first impression of Pakistani students was that they are, well, just that – college students. How… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 16, 2010 at 8:00am — No Comments

Surging Economy Propels India to New Heights on CWG 2010 Medals Table

Is there a correlation between a nation's economic performance and its success at international sports competitions? Has India's economic resurgence contributed to its achieving remarkable second place status on the medals table at the Commonwealth Games 2010 that just concluded in New Delhi?







Economics professor Daniel Johnson and his student… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on October 14, 2010 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Pakistan's Lost Decade of 1990s

Pakistani economy grew at a fairly impressive rate of 6 percent per year through the first four decades of the nation's existence. In spite of rapid population growth during this period, per capita incomes doubled, inflation remained low and poverty declined from 46% down to 18% by late 1980s, according to eminent Pakistani economist Dr. Ishrat Husain. This healthy economic performance was maintained through several wars and successive… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 27, 2010 at 6:30pm — 3 Comments

Meeting Millennium Development Goals in Pakistan

In year 2000, leaders of rich and poor nations pledged to build a better world by 2015. Among their key goals now called Millennium Development Goals: halving extreme poverty and hunger from 1990 levels, reducing by two-thirds the child-mortality rate and slashing maternal mortality by three-quarters and achieving universal primary education.



The good news is that the share of people living on less than $1.25 a day seems on track to meet the goal of halving the extreme poverty rate.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 24, 2010 at 11:00pm — 6 Comments

Upward Economic and Social Mobility in Pakistan

Over the last two decades, Pakistan has continued to offer much greater upward economic and social mobility to its citizens than… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 18, 2010 at 12:00pm — 10 Comments

Pakistan GDP Driven By Consumption, Not Exports and Investments

Gross domestic product (GDP) is calculated by adding up public and private consumption, investments and exports. Some of the major world economies, most notably Germany and China, are led by exports, while others, such as United States, United Kingdom, India and Pakistan, are primarily domestic consumption driven.



With almost 80% of its GDP from consumption, Pakistan has particularly heavy reliance on domestic… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 17, 2010 at 8:48pm — 6 Comments

How Can Overseas Pakistanis Help in Post-Floods Reconstruction?

Members of Pakistani diaspora must remember their compatriots in distress as we celebrate Eid today.



While there have been high-profile recent efforts by overseas Pakistanis to raise millions of dollars to fund rescue and relief efforts after the recent devastating floods, it is now time to begin to shift focus on to the much longer term and significantly more expensive reconstruction phase that… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 11, 2010 at 11:00am — 2 Comments

Silicon Valley's NED Alumni Lead Fundraising Efforts For Flood Relief in Pakistan

For every Pakistani hit by floods, there are eight who are still standing and ready to help. That was the theme that guided the recent Silicon Valley Iftar and Fundraiser organized by Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN Silicon Valley) at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 2, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

Expanded Pakistani Middle Class Helping Flood Victims

A pre-requisite for a responsive and accountable democracy is a substantial middle class population.



An Asian Development Bank report on Asia's rising middle class released today confirms that Pakistan's middle class now is 40% of the population, significantly larger than the Indian middle class of about 25% of its population.



The other significant news reported by… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 19, 2010 at 4:58pm — No Comments

Pakistan's Glass is Half Full on its 63rd Independence Day

The devastating floods in Pakistan have dampened the spirits of its people on its 63rd independence day this Aug 14, 2010. All official events marking the day have been canceled as the nation mourns the death of at least 1700 of its citizens and finds itself overwhelmed by the monumental relief and rescue efforts aimed at tens of millions of people across three provinces.



As the scope and scale of… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 14, 2010 at 9:48am — No Comments

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    Blog Posts

    PFX to Advance Pakistan Air Force Modernization

    Pakistan has unveiled its PFX (Pakistan Fighter Experimental) program as a significant upgrade to its JF-17 joint program with China. The new upgrade will have a number of stealth features ranging from the use of radar-absorbing composite materials and diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI) to internal weapons bay (IWB) which will significantly reduce the aircraft's radar signature. It is targeted for completion by the end of this decade. In addition, the PFX's twin-engine design will improve…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on January 20, 2025 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment

    Pakistan to License Multiple LEO Satellite Internet Service Providers

    The Pakistan government is preparing to license three low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite operators for space communication services in the country, according to media reports. The companies whose applications are pending include London-based OneWeb, China's Shanghai Spacecom and US headquartered Starlink.  They operate tens of thousands of small mass-produced satellites in low orbits that communicate with designated (mobile and stationary) ground stations.  Each LEO satellite circles the earth…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on January 15, 2025 at 1:30pm — 2 Comments

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