South Asia Investor Review

An Indian court has recently acquitted all accused in Samjhauta Express terrorist attack of February 2007 that claimed 68 lives, including lives of 43 Pakistan citizens, 10 Indian citizens and 15 unidentified people. This latest verdict came after the acquittal of these and other accused who had confessed to a series of bomb attacks on Muslim targets including Mecca Masjid, Malegaon and Ajmer sufi shrine. These attacks claimed many innocent Muslim lives. The latest acquittals are a continuation of prior shameful judgements by Indian judges in Afzal Guru death sentence and Babri Masjid cases. These trends pose a serious existential threat to India's rule-of-law, democracy and economy. Swami Aseemanand Samjhauta Express Attack: Immediately after the Samjhota Express attack in 2007, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as well as some Indian media organizations blamed Pakistan for the attack.  Later, an investigation by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) concluded th

Has the world seen the best and the worst of humanity since the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand? How did New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern handle the aftermath of the tragedy? Is her genuine compassion and decisiveness a shining example of leadership? How was the response to the tragedy from major world leaders like US President  Donald Trump , Indian Prime Minister  Narendra Modi  and Prime Minister Imran Khan? What does it say about them? Who came out to show support for Muslim communities around the world? How did New Zealanders show solidarity with Muslims? How did Muslims in Silicon Valley deal with the aftermath of the tragedy? Who joined them in mourning? Who celebrated the massacre of innocent Muslims and why? What do  White Nationalism  and  Hindu Nationalism  have in common? Are these two sides of the same coin? Who was BS Moonje and why did he meet Mussolini? Who was Golwalkar and why did he admire Hitler? What is Modi's connection with Golwalka

World Happiness Report 2019 says that India is among the world's biggest losers while Pakistan is among the biggest gainers on World Happiness Index. Under Prime Minister Narendra's Modi's leadership, India's ranking has worsened from 118 in 2016 to 140 in 2019. In the same period, Pakistan's ranking has improved from 92 in 2016 to 67 in 2019.  World Happiness index  is considered a better representation of people's well-being than other economic and social indicators individually. World Happiness Trends in India and Pakistan. Source: United Nations Contrary to the Indian and western media hype about Modi-nomics, it was recently reported that  unemployment rate  in India has reached its highest in 45 years. Indian  GDP growth figures  have been challenged as too optimistic by top Indian and western economists. Modi's  demonetization  has turned out to be a major disaster for India's largely cash-based economy. Farmers are continuing to  take their

A combined 57% of respondents say that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is doing either a “very good job” (17%) or a “good job” (40%) so far, according to a nationwide poll conducted by  International Republican Institute  (IRI). It represents the first independent public opinion poll in Pakistan on PTI's popularity since the party won the 2018 general elections.  Overwhelming majority  (84%) say that the  election results  are either “very accurate” (46%) or “somewhat accurate” (38%). A combined 83% believe that the election was either “completely free and fair” (50%) or “mostly free and fair” (33%). IRI Pakistan Poll Results. Source: IRI Imran Khan's Strong Approval: Majority of Pakistanis (57%) believe Prime Minister Imran Khan's government is doing either a “very good job” (17%) or a “good job” (40%) so far, according to an IRI survey conducted on behalf of the Center for Insights in Survey Research. Data was collected between November 1 and November 22, 2018

When the Indian national cricket team took to the field for its third ODI against Australia in Ranchi on March 8, 2019, they wore military caps to show support for the Indian military against Pakistan. This was an unprecedented act of politicization of international sports on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's watch in India. Pakistan born Usman T. Khawaja, Australia's opening batsman, responded to it with a maiden century that helped his team win by 32 runs after losing first two ODIs.  Khawaja then proceeded to score the series highest total score of 383 to help Australia win the remaining two ODIs and the series 3-2. Pakistan Born Usman Khawaja Batting for Australia Against India at Ranchi Usman Tariq Khawaja: Usman Tariq Khawaja, born in Islamabad, Pakistan, is the first Muslim member of the Australian national cricket team.  He currently represents Australia and Queensland. Khawaja made his first-class cricket debut for New South Wales in 2008 and played his first inte

"Desh ka bahut nuksaan hua hai",  acknowledged Indian Prime Minister  Narendra Modi after his military's recent failures against Pakistan in Balakot and Kashmir. This marked a major shift in Modi's belligerent tone that has been characterized by his boasts of "chhappan inch ki chhati" (56 inch chest) and  talk of  "munh tor jawab" (jaw-breaking response) and " boli nahin goli " (bullets, not talks) to intimidate Pakistan in the last few years.  The recent events are forcing India's western backers to reassess their strategy of boosting India as a counterweight to China. Balakot and Kashmir: Indian government and media have made a series of  false claims  about Balakot "militant casualties" and "shooting down Pakistani F16".  These claims have been scrutinized and debunked by independent journalists, experts and fact checkers. There is no dispute about the fact that Squadron Leader Hasan Siddiqui of Pakistan Air For

Pakistan is seeing an unusually wet winter this year after a  very long drought . The country's northern areas received up to 1.8 and 2.1 m (6 and 7 feet)  snowfall  in January and the first week of February 2019, the heaviest in 48 years. Other parts of the country have seen torrential rains and flooding that required launching of relief efforts by Pakistani military and national and provincial disaster management agencies. Pakistan Rain and Snow. Source: AccuWeather Abdul Wali Yousafzai, a senior officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa irrigation department told  Anadolu Agency  that the "snowfall and rain will not only help to raise our water table but also be beneficial for our forests that had been affected by drought".  Prime Minister Imran Khan also welcomed it as "a blessing from God".  "The rainfall will raise the water table while the snow will melt into our river. It's a blessing from God," he said. Unusually wet weather in arid Balochista

Squadron Leader Hasan Siddiqui of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), flying a  Pakistan-made JF-17 Block 2 serial 15-201  fighter jet,  shot down  Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of Indian Air Force (IAF) flying a Russia made MiG 21. Abhinandan was captured by Pakistan last week. The news has boosted the stock price of CAC (Chengdu Aircraft Corporation) which jointly developed JF-17 Thunder with Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). JF-17 Thunder Fighter: The development of JF-17, a modern highly capable and relatively inexpensive fighter jet, is the crowning achievement to-date of the  Pakistan-China defense production  cooperation. It's being deployed by Pakistan Air Force with Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC). The latest version is capable of launching a variety of nuclear and conventional weapons ranging from smart bombs and air-launched cruise missile Raad to anti-ship missiles. Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) got its start decades ago by setting up maintenance facili