South Asia Investor Review

Indian mainstream media headlines suggest that Pakistan's current troubles are becoming a cause for celebration and smugness across the border. Hindu Nationalists, in particular, are singing the praises of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some Pakistani analysts have joined this chorus. This display of triumphalism and effusive praise of India beg the following questions: Why are Indians so obsessed with Pakistan? Why do Indians choose to compare themselves with much smaller Pakistan rather than to their peer China? Why does India lag so far behind China when the two countries are equal in terms of population and number of consumers, the main draw for investors worldwide? Obviously, comparison with China does not reflect well on Hindu Nationalists because it deflates their bubble.  Comparing China and India GDPs. Source: Statistics Times China was poorer than India until 1990 in terms of per capita income. In 2001, both nations were included in Goldman Sachs'  BRICs  gro

The United Nations has declared March 15 the "International Day to Combat Islamophobia".  Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first world leader who highlighted the global rise in Islamophobia in a speech in September, 2021 at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Khan's speech was followed by the adoption of a Pakistani resolution at the UNGA co-sponsored with the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) on March 15, 2022 to observe "International Day to Combat Islamophobia" on March 15 every year.   Ex Prime Minister Imran Khan Speaking at the United Nations.  In his September 2021 speech at UNGA ,  Imran khan said that “the worst and most pervasive form” of Islamophobia “now rules India”. The “ Hindutva ideology” being promoted by the Narendra Modi Government has unleashed “a reign of fear and violence” against India’s 200-million Muslims. India is the Largest Contributor to Islamophobia on Social Media. Source: TRT World India has just

Pakistani analyst Uzair Younus has recorded personal impressions of his recent India visit on his YouTube channel, as well as in an interview on another YouTube channel called "Pakistan Experience".  Indian media have gleefully jumped on it with headlines like "Visiting India Was Like Stepping Into The Future" and a "Pakistani analyst" talking of India's "communal harmony". It has helped Younus' channel draw its highest ever views, and inundated it with Indian trolls' comments praising Hindu Nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and denouncing Pakistan.  This is yet another confirmation of what former US President Barack Obama wrote in his  book  "A Promised Land": “Expressing hostility toward Pakistan was still the quickest route to national unity (in India)”.  Indians See Uzair Younus Endorsing Indian PM Modi's Policies Digital Payments:  Younus' "stepping into the future" comment refers primarily to t

It is  International Women's Day  on March 8, and its theme is "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality". It's a day to highlight Pakistani women's participation in science and technology. Nearly half a million Pakistani women are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at universities, accounting for nearly 46% of all STEM students in higher education institutions in the country. Several Pakistani women are leading the country's tech Startup ecosystem. Others occupy significant positions at world's top research labs, tech firms, universities and other science institutions. They are great role models who are inspiring young Pakistani women to pursue careers in science and technology.    Clockwise From Top Left: Nergis Mavalvala, Maria Abrar, Maheen Adamson, Tasneem Zehra Husain, Sundas Khalid, Asifa Akhtar Pakistani Women in Science:  Growing numbers of Pakistani working women are making a contribution

Famous Indian writer and poet Javed Akhtar told his audience at a conference in Mumbai that he saw "no visible poverty" in Lahore during his multiple visits to Pakistan over the last three decades. Responding to Indian novelist Chetan Bhagat's query about Pakistan's economic crisis at ABP's " Ideas of India Summit 2023 " in Mumbai, Akhtar said: "Unlike what you see in Delhi and Mumbai, I did not see any visible poverty in Lahore".  This was Akhtar's first interview upon his return to India after attending "Faiz Festival" in Lahore, Pakistan.  Javed Akhtar at ABP Ideas Summit in Mumbai Chetan Bhagat began by talking about high inflation, low forex reserves and major economic crisis in Pakistan and followed it up by asking Javed Akhtar about its effects he saw on the people in Pakistan. In response, Akhtar said, "Bilkul Nahin (Not at all). In India you see poverty right in front of you, next door to a billionaire. Maybe it is k

Karachi-based start-ups raised $236.7 million in 2022, accounting for two-thirds of Pakistan's total startup funding and almost double the previous year, according to  Data Darbar .   Karachi , Pakistan's largest city, is followed by Lahore with $69.2 million and Islamabad with $41.6 million. Nationally, the total funds raised by startups have been declining after hitting the peak of $173 million in Q1/2022.  City-wise Startup Funding of Pakistani Startups. Source: Data Darbar via FDI Intelligence National Incubation Center, located at Karachi's  NED University of Engineering and Technology  ( NEDUET ), has incubated more than 250 start-ups so far.  These include ride-hailing app Bykea and London-based proptech platform Gridizen. Kamran Mahmood, the CEO of Gridizen, who recently returned to Pakistan to join NIC Karachi, says he has found it even easier to meet decision makers at large companies in Pakistan than the UK, according to a report in  FDI Intelligence .  “Karachi

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal" Henry Kissinger India is emerging as the biggest beneficiary of the Ukraine War and the US efforts to check China's rise. Indian businesses are busting US sanctions to take advantage of the vacuum left in Russia by the exit of western businesses since the start of the Ukraine War.  At the same time, the US is rewarding India by promoting it as an alternative to China in the global supply chain.  Meanwhile, Beijing is warning New Delhi that India "will be the biggest victim" of America's "proxy war" against China.  L to R: Modi, Putin, Xi and Biden Soaring Russia-India Trade:  Since the start of Russia's invasion of  Ukraine , India has ramped up its imports of  Russian oil  by a whopping 33 times, according to the  Christian Science Monitor .  Dr. Nivedita Kapoor, an Indian expert at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told the Monitor: “Right now the

Veteran Pakistani performing artist Zia Mohyeddin (1931-2023) passed away this week. May his soul rest in peace. Amen. Among the most enduring legacies he has left behind is the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) he helped establish in Karachi in 2005 with the support and funding provided by former President  Pervez Musharraf  (1943-2023). Zia Mohyeddin not only inspired generations of young Pakistanis aspiring to become performing artists, he also helped build  NAPA  as an institution where they are formally trained in film, television, dance, theater,  music  and other performing arts.   Zia Mohyeddin (1931-2023) Popular Pakistani actor Fawad Khan, a NAPA graduate who was inspired by Mohyeddin, told  Al Jazeera  the thespian’s death felt like he had lost his own father. “I don’t have enough words to express my words and sorrow at his passing. He helped me at every stage. His life was all about theatre, the all-encompassing passion he had for it. It kept him alive,” Khan said.

Over a million students, about a third of total 3 million students (1.4 million women, 1.6 million men) enrolled in Pakistani universities and degree colleges, are currently studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM Education), according to data released by the country's Higher Education Commission ( HEC ). Of these students, 415,008 are studying natural sciences and mathematics, 276,659 are in information and communication technologies (ICT), 178,260 are in health sciences and 166,457 are in engineering. Pakistan produced 157,102 STEM graduates last year, putting it among the world's top dozen or so countries. About 43,000 of these graduates are in information technology (IT).   Student Enrollment By Field of Study at Pakistani Higher Education Institutions. Source: HEC Nearly half a million Pakistani women are currently enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses at universities, accounting for nearly 46% of all STEM students in