Populism in Pakistan: Myth and Reality
“Populist promises to reverse every tough decision are nothing but empty rhetoric, irresponsible leadership, and bad politics. They are not the solution to Ireland’s problems”, Enda Kenny, an Irish politician, had once said. His saying could be applied to Pakistan in its entirety if the word ‘Ireland’ is replaced with ‘Pakistan’, where a so-called populist […]
Pakistan’s native languages have Perso-Arabic alphabets
Being a multinational and multi-lingual country, Pakistan could be portrayed as a bouquet of language-flowers, each of its flowers having a unique fragrance and richness of folk and contemporary literature. As many as 24 languages are spoken in Pakistan, which include Urdu, Punjabi, Siraiki, Sindhi, Balochi, Brohvi, Pashto, Hindko, Shina, Dari and others however six […]
Daewoo Making Inroads in Pakistan’s Public Transportation System
Although over two dozen South Korean companies have engaged in different sectors in Pakistan for years, including construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, and power plants, Daewoo is the only corporation facilitating the Pakistani people through the public transportation sector. Daewoo Express Limited, having had a significant presence in Pakistan’s public transportation for the past two […]
All is “Not Well” with Pakistan’s Education Sector
Although the governments, federal as well as provincial, have begun to focus on improving existing educational systems by establishing new higher educational institutions in Pakistan, the situation at the primary and secondary level is dismal. According to official data, around 48 percent of public schools in the country do not have toilets, boundary walls, electricity, […]
Pakistan – Where People Consume Poisonous Water
It was a frosty and misty Sunday morning of December 2017 when I noticed several people of varying ages riding bikes and three-wheeler Chinese rickshaws, locally called “Chingchi”, loaded with empty plastic cans. They all headed to a British-era canal flowing north to south in the east of town. “They all are going to the […]
The Asian Century – Key Issues
Towards the end of October, the rumblings of Asia were resounding worldwide. The new AJA motto, “New Asia, New Dynamics” is more than proving to be relevant. Xi Jinping’s name has been written into the Chinese constitution while he is still in power. It includes a reference to his “treatise” on Socialism with Chinese […]
NGOs, INGOs facing tough rules and regulations in Pakistan
The local as well as international non-government organizations operating in Pakistan have recently been receiving strange signals from the government. First, the government began scrutinizing NGOs and INGOs working in different fields across the country and then devised the new strategic policy of INGO registration besides also introducing strict terms and conditions for local […]
Pakistan condemns nuclear test conducted by North Korea
“Pakistan condemns the reported nuclear test by the DPRK,” read the statement issued by the Foreign Office spokesperson in reaction to North Korea’s announcement that it successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb on Sunday September 3rd, 2017. “Pakistan has consistently maintained that the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) should comply with the UN Security […]
Anti-corruption uprising: Korea and Pakistan on same path
Pakistan is perhaps one of the few countries where the media – print as well as electronic, allocate much space to the developments taking place around the world – be it US presidential elections, American policies, ongoing wars in the Middle East, mass migration of people, natural disasters, tug of war among the big powers […]