South Asia Investor Review

The US government granted 16,320 immigrant visas to Pakistani nationals. Another 11,861 immigrant visas were given to Pakistanis by the Canadian government in the same period.  The total number of new Pakistani immigrants admitted as permanent residents in North America in 2023 was 28,181.  There are currently over a million Pakistanis living in North America. These include 687,942 Pakistanis in America as of 2020, according to the  US Census . And 303,260 Pakistanis residing in Canada as of 2021, according to  Statistics Canada . There are nearly 6 million people from India living in North America, according to government data.  Pakistani Diaspora in North America. Source: US, Canadian Governments Non-immigrant visas issued annually by the US government to Pakistani passport holders have almost doubled over the last 5 years, from 40,679 in 2018 to 80,852 in 2023, according to Gallup Pakistan . Meanwhile, immigrant visas issued annually to Pakistani citizens h...

Many Pakistanis are singing effusive praises of India on social media platforms and racking up millions of views, according to a report in the Indian  mainstream media. These Pakistanis are boosting their earnings by feeding into the  Indians' delusions . The " India Today " report claims that, in the last 6 months alone, the number of channels using the hashtag #pakistanireactiononindia on YouTube increased by 1,000, and the number of videos by 5,000. Calling it an "industry" is an acknowledgment of the profit motive of the Pakistani YouTubers. These YouTubers steer clear of anything that even remotely challenges their unadulterated praise of India. For example, they make no mention of India ranking worse than Pakistan on income  poverty , hunger and overall  happiness . Nor do they talk about thousands of  Indian farmers  killing themselves every year.  Nor do they mention extremely high levels of  unemployment  in Modi's India.  Modi ...

Pakistan's agriculture sector grew 6.3% in 2023-24, far outpacing the overall economy that grew just 2.38%, according to the  Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24 .  This is good news for about 40% of the country's population working in the agriculture sector. By contrast, India's agriculture growth slowed to  1.2%  in recent quarters. Studies have shown that strong growth in agriculture helps  reduce poverty  in developing nations like India and Pakistan.  Snapshot of Pakistan's Economy. Source: Economic Survey of Pakistan 2023-24 The agriculture growth in Pakistan was the highest in 19 years. All major crops saw significant increases. Wheat output jumped 11.6% from 28.2 million tons last year to 31.4 million tons this year, the economic survey said. Cotton, severely damaged by floods and rains last year, reached 10.2 million bales compared to 4.9 million bales last year, growing by 108.2%.  Rice output  also saw a significant increase — up b...

In a rare act of courage by a serving congressman, Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky has detailed strong-arm tactics of the Israel lobby to ensure unquestioning support for Israel. He said that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), also known as the Israel lobby, is unique in that it has designated representatives (Massie calls them "AIPAC persons") assigned to each Republican member of Congress to ensure the lawmakers vote for bills Israel supports. Massie has now banned his assigned  "AIPAC Person" from his office.  AIPAC Guy Threatening US Politician. Source: Jake Shields In spite of working on behalf of a foreign government, "AIPAC persons" are not registered as foreign agents under FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). Others, such as Paul Manafort (working for Russia) and Ghulam Nabi Fai (representing Pakistan's interests), have been prosecuted, convicted and jailed for violating FARA. No other foreign country has such an organizati...

The value of copper assets has surged 31.7% in the last six months, significantly surpassing the rise in tech stocks (20.2%) and gold (20%) in the same period. Growing demand for copper is mainly driven by increasing adoption of green technologies such as electric vehicles and growth in AI (artificial intelligence) data centers using the latest Nvidia chips. At current prices, the value of copper and gold deposits at Reko Diq in Balochistan province is nearly $200 billion.   Comparing Asset Price Appreciation Over Last Six Months. Source: Wall Street Journal Interest in developing Pakistan's Reko Diq copper and gold mines has also grown with widening gap between demand and supply of the metals. Dennis Mark Bristow, CEO of the Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation, has said the Reko Diq mining project in Balochistan province is “absolutely on track” and would be able to begin production by 2028, according to news reports . Bristow said Reko Diq is an “enormous projec...

There is an alarming rapid decline in fertility rates in both developed and developing nations, according to the United Nations.  Here is how the  Wall Street Journal  describes it: "The world is at a startling demographic milestone. Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep the population constant. It may have already happened".  Total Fertility Rates in 12 Most Populous Nations. Source: Wall Street Journal Birth rates are low and fertility is rapidly dropping for women across all levels of income, education and labor-force participation around the world. Fertility is falling among Pakistani women too but more slowly than elsewhere in Asia. In fact, Pakistani women have the third highest fertility rate (3.47) among the 12 most populous nations of the world.  Pakistan Fertility Rate. Source: Data Commons Birth rates have economic, social and geopolitical consequences. "The falling birthrates come with huge implications for...