South Asia Investor Review

Pakistani-American Astrophysicist Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, MIT professor and member of Nobel Prize winner LIGO team, visited Pakistani-American Community Center (PACC) in  Silicon Valley  on February 24, 2018. She was invited by PACC founder Mr. Mohammad Asghar Aboobaker to talk about her inspirational work and meet with the community members, particularly Pakistani-American children in the Valley. Riaz Haq (R) with Dr. Nergis Mavalvala Who is Nergis? Nergis was born in Lahore and raised in Karachi before coming to the United States in 1986. She completed her Ph.D. in Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1997. She did her doctoral work under Dr. Rainer Weiss that included developing a prototype laser interferometer for detecting gravitational waves. Currently, she is Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she is also the Associate Head of the Department of Physics. Gravitational...

Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the financial watchdog group for terror financing, has delayed any decision to put Pakistan on its watch list, according to its spokesperson Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel.  This move was sponsored by the United States and its European allies. The  FATF statement  released after the meeting that ended on February 23, 2018 identified the following nations as being on its watch list: Ethiopia, Iraq, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Vanuatu and Yemen. FATF Decision Delayed:  It appears that the American bid failed at this month's FATF meeting. Pakistan's Chinese allies and Muslim friends among the Gulf Arabs and Turkey prevailed at the February 18-23 meeting in Paris, France. If US persists and Pakistan is placed on the FATF "grey list" at the June meeting, how will it impact Pakistan economy and the geopolitics of the region? Will it be good or bad for American interests in  Afghanistan and Pakistan ? ...

Pakistan-China ties are rapidly growing well beyond the  economy  and the  military  with tens of thousands of Chinese and Pakistani citizens regularly traveling between the two countries. More Pakistanis than ever are learning the Chinese language. China with its world class educational institutions is emerging as one of the top destinations for  Pakistanis studying abroad . China-Pakistan relationship is becoming a truly multi-dimensional  strategic relationship .   This new phenomenon is the subject of a Pakistani spice company  television commercial  featuring a young Chinese woman in Lahore making the popular biryani dish using Shan masala. China-Pakistan Institute: Headed by Pakistani Senator Mushahid Hussain,  Pakistan-China Institute (PCI)  is a non-governmental, non-partisan and non-political think-tank. Its goal is to promote people to people ties between the two nations in defense and diplomacy, education and e...

Pakistan-born, Harvard-educated economist Ms. Saadia Zahidi, author of "50 Million Rising" , is currently a member of the executive committee and the head of Education, Gender and Work at the World Economic Forum , Davos, Switzerland. She told Kai Ryssdal of APR Marketplace of her visit to a gas field in Pakistan with her geophysicist father where she met Nazia, a woman engineer who inspired her. Saadia Zahidi The "50 Million" in the title of her book refers to the 50 million Muslim women who have joined the work force over the last 15 years bringing the total number of working women in the Muslim world to about 155 million. In her book, Saadia talks about her father being the first in his family to go to university. He believed in girls' education and career opportunities. She recalls him suggesting that "my sister could become a pilot because the Pakistan Air Force had just starting to train women. Another time he speculated that I could become a...

Is China using China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to colonize Pakistan just as the British East India company colonized India centuries earlier? Will Pakistan be caught in a massive Chinese debt trap and eventually become China's colony? What are the terms of  Chinese financing and investments  in CPEC projects in Pakistan? Are Pakistanis required to pay exorbitant interest rates on infrastructure loans and unreasonably high return on equity on power plant investments? Is there an IBM-like organized campaign of  fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)  being waged by CPEC's detractors to convince Pakistanis that it's a zero sum game in which China's gain is Pakistan's loss? Is there no possibility of win-win in CPEC for both China and  Pakistan ? Azad Labon Ke Saath host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions in Urdu with Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com) https://youtu.be/YZzea9OsC2k Related Links: Haq's Musings Campaign of Fear, Uncertainty an...

Karachi, one of world's fastest growing megacities , has seen its crime index ranking improve dramatically from 6 in 2013 to 50 in 2017, according to a survey of 327 world cities conducted by Numbeo .  Karachi was ranked 47 in 2016.  Reduction in violence is helping revive Pakistan's economy, making it the third fastest growing trillion dollar economy among the top 25 world economies by purchasing power parity. Comparison to Major Cities: Creek Vista, Karachi, Pakistan In South Asia region, Karachi, now ranked 50, is safer than Bangladeshi capital Dhaka ranked 18 and the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon ranked 40.  Delhi is ranked 60, Lahore 138, Mumbai 160 and Islamabad 226. Karachi is also safer than American cities of Detroit, MI (17),  Baltimore, MD (20), New Orleans, LA (21), Albuquerque, NM (27), St. Louis, MO (30) Oakland, CA (33) and Milwaukee, WI (46). The year 2013 marked the beginning of the deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi to fight rampant ex...

Is China using China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to colonize Pakistan just as the British East India company colonized India centuries earlier? Will Pakistan be caught in a massive Chinese debt trap and eventually become China's colony? What are the terms of  Chinese financing and investments  in CPEC projects in Pakistan? Are Pakistanis required to pay exorbitant interest rates on infrastructure loans and unreasonably high return on equity on power plant investments? Is there an IBM-like organized campaign of  fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD)  being waged by CPEC's detractors to convince Pakistanis that it's a zero sum game in which China's gain is Pakistan's loss? Is there no possibility of win-win in CPEC for both China and  Pakistan ? Viewpoint From Overseas host Faraz Darvesh discusses these questions with Misbah Azam and Riaz Haq (www.riazhaq.com) https://youtu.be/NixuaR0_jws Related Links: Haq's Musings Campaign of Fear, Un...

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its flagship  China-Pakistan Economic Corridor  (CPEC) were the stars at Davos, not US President Donald Trump, according to a  New York Times  report. The geopolitical momentum lay with Beijing, not Washington, the report said. The forums on BRI and CPEC were among the best attended forums at the World Economic Forum 2018. CPEC Session:  New York Times said "a senior Chinese diplomat helped introduce the prime minister of  Pakistan  at a breakfast meeting. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi used his talk to praise the rapidly expanding Chinese investments in his country, including to build power stations and a large port". Inclusive Development Report: More and more  Pakistanis are sharing  in their nation's development, according to  World Economic Forum (WEF) report  released in Davos. Pakistan ranks 47 among 74 emerging economies ranked for inclusive development by WEF release...