South Asia Investor Review

On the morning of April 13, 2026, a surgeon named Cain, stopped my heart at a San Francisco hospital to graft two bypass veins to restore full blood supply to my heart. It's a procedure called CABG (coronary artery bypass graft pronounced like the vegetable), that seems to have become fairly routine in modern times. Dr. Brian Scott Cain was assisted by Dr. Danielle Holland, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist. Prior to the procedure, Dr. Cain told me he had done nearly 4,000 such operations in his 20 years as a cardiovascular surgeon. In terms of risk, he said, there was a 1% chance of death and 2% chance of stroke during surgery. But the upside after successful surgery is a significant improvement in quality of life.  In a Chair on 4th Day in Hospital, With Chest Scar Clearly Visible By the time I woke up in an intensive care unit (ICU) a few hours later, I was told it all went smoothly.There were no surprises. Dr. Cain informed me that my heart is in good shape. I was kept in the I...

Both the American and the Iranian delegations are expected to begin peace talks in Islamabad tomorrow after the announcement of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire. The US team is led by Vice President J.D. Vance and includes President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Iranian team includes Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi. Mohammad Ghalibaf is a former IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) commander with close ties to the hardliners.   The Islamabad meeting has come as a result of the tireless efforts of the Pakistani leaders to stop the war since it started on February 28 with the US-Israeli attack on Iran. But these efforts took on special urgency on the morning of April 7,  when President Donald Trump posted an ominous warning on Truth Social: "A Whole Civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again". "We will find out tonight, one of the most important mome...

The Annual Status of Education Report ( ASER ) Pakistan 2025 national report, officially released on March 26, 2026, shows that the number of "Out of School Children" (OOSC) aged 6-16 years in Pakistan is now 5 million, not 25 million generally reported.  "The findings on access are encouraging. Enrollment levels are high, with 92.2 percent of children aged 6–16 in school and only 7.7 percent out of school", says the ASER Pakistan 2025 report. ASER Pakistan is a citizen-led initiative, primarily led by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with various national and international partners to promote foundational learning. It also works closely with over 10,000 volunteers and numerous local civil society organizations such as the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), PAL Network (People's Action for Learning),  UNESCO and federal and provincial government departments in Pakistan.  Enrolling Out of School Children in Pakistan. Source: ASER Via Bilal Gilani  The lates...