Tag Archives: Pakistan

A self-made successful businessman of Indian origin, who came to the United States when he was 21 years old, has made it to the ballot for New York state Lt. Governor.

South Asia’s water and energy crises are deeply intertwined. Growing energy demand drives water shortages and lack of water fuels power outages. Regional cooperation – such as power trading between countries – could ease tightening resource constraints but such solutions have been largely scuppered by political suspicions.

Fundamental reform of Pakistan's electoral process must reflect true democracy starting from the grassroots level. Whether Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri get elected or not is of no consequence, history will record their contribution as catalysts for wholesale and meaningful change.

Though some say that the army is behind the current unrest, the generals do not seem intent on taking over a direct administrative role. But if the political protagonists cannot be brought to resolve their differences through processes that show respect for democratic process, the military is unlikely to watch from the sidelines.

India’s Pakistan policy is confused. The fact that Narendra Modi government jumped to the wrong conclusion about talks with Pakistan suggests two things. Either it overestimated its capacity to enforce new conditions on a politically troubled, if not enfeebled, Pakistani prime minister or it simply hasn’t clearly thought through what signals it’s sending out.

Those who claim to defend democracy must understand that democracy is not just numbers — it is accountability, transparency, effectiveness and justice in governance, all of which are strikingly absent from Nawaz Sharif’s agenda. Pakistan thus remains on the edge.

Nobody wants democracy to be derailed but neither can democracy persist in Pakistan in its present form. The protestors in front of the country’s parliament are going nowhere unless most of their demands are met, the Sharifs must face ground reality.  These last seven days have exposed Pakistan’s present facade of democracy for what it really is, a purchasable commodity available to the highest bidder. 

A the UN Convention on International Watercourses comes into effect this week, we ask experts if it can lower regional frictions over access to water.

Pakistan is not alone in China’s larger vision of building a web of Silk Roads to connect it with Central Asia and as far as Germany. From 1992 to 2011 China spent 8.5 per cent of GDP on infrastructure, much more than the developing country average of 2–4 percent. And, from 1992 to 2007, China spent US$120 billion on building 21748 miles of highways.

Pakistani television drama serial “Zindagi Gulzar Hai” became an instant hit amongst South Asian communities in North America. Never before had there been a TV series — South Asian in origin and made outside of India — so hugely popular amongst so many diverse South Asian communities. And yet, watching the serial making a mark on its viewers made me cynical, says one Bangladeshi analyst.