After years of tensions, it appears that there may be a glimmer of hope for peace between India and Pakistan. This hope has been precipitated by reports that the UAE helped to broker the recent India-Pakistan Kashmir border ceasefire and a road map to peace between these two nuclear-armed south Asian neighbours. The ceasefire was announced in the last week of February in a joint statement of the Director Generals of Military Operations of Pakistan and India. Immediately after that … [Read more...]
Joe Biden’s victory brings positive winds of change
After months of trench warfare and 84 seemingly endless hours of counting votes, the verdict is finally in: Joseph R. Biden, Jr. is the president-elect of the United States. He will take office as the 46thPresident on January 20,2021. The quadrennial dance of democracy ended exactly the way many had feared: in a deeply divided country and a closer contest than some would have liked. Those who were hoping for a landslide Biden win, as several opinion polls had predicted, were … [Read more...]
A Beginning to Seek Peace in Afghanistan
On September 12, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban met in Doha to start the Afghan Peace Process negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo referred to these negotiations as a “truly momentous breakthrough.” Max Boot, an expert for the Council of Foreign Relations disagreed. He advises “…no one should expect a breakthrough quickly – or at all. The two sides are too far apart and the conditions are not propitious to end the civil conflict that has been … [Read more...]
Trump administration hits foreign professionals and students
On June 22, President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the entry of a number of non-immigrant work visa holders into the US till the end of the year. The visa categories affected by the executive order include, most notably, H-1B, which has been used by more than a million Indian IT professionals and tens of thousands of Pakistan doctors since the 1990s and the L-1 visa used by US companies to bring in workers from their Indian offices. On July 6, the US Immigration … [Read more...]
Systemic racism: America requires a systemic response
On May 25, there was a 9-minute incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sparked protests in hundreds of locations across the USA and in numerous cities around the world. That incident was the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with three other officers in attendance. Chauvin killed 46-year old Mr. Floyd by holding his knee on the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.” A video of this … [Read more...]
Systemic racism: America requires a systemic response
On May 25, there was a 9-minute incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sparked protests in hundreds of locations across the USA and in numerous cities around the world. That incident was the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with three other officers in attendance. Chauvin killed 46-year old Mr. Floyd by holding his knee on the back of his neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd pleaded, “I can’t breathe.” A video of this … [Read more...]
The need for an International Interconnected Philanthropic Network to defeat Covid-19
In times of crises such as flooding, hurricanes, and earthquakes, there is a substantial need for philanthropic assistance. Because of the unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic – which as of this moment has already resulted in more than 4 million confirmed cases and nearly 300,000 deaths world-wide, there is need for this form of philanthropy and much more. The “much more” is an international interconnected philanthropic network (IIPN) … [Read more...]
A President Biden would be good for Pakistan-US ties
The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the news in Pakistan and the United States in the month of April. During that same time period, it became clear that Joe Biden would be the Democratic candidate to challenge President Donald Trump who is running for re-election as the Republican candidate. What would Biden’s being President as opposed to Donald Trump mean for future relations between Pakistan and the United States? To speculate on that, let me first look at what those relations have been and … [Read more...]
Putting the Coronavirus Pandemic into Perspective
At this point in time, on March 25, the only thing that can be said with any certainty regarding the Coronavirus pandemic is there is no certainty about how and when it will end or what its exact impact will be for Pakistan, other nations and the world. There are observations, however, that can be made regarding the pandemic’s impact to date, the responses that have been made to it; and, what actions will be necessary in its aftermath. Overall, the novel coronavirus has … [Read more...]
Combatting Corruption: A Need in Pakistan and Around the World
The 2019 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks 180 countries based on “perceived levels of public sector corruption” released last week revealed that “a majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.” Pakistan falls into this category. It received a CPI score of 32 in 2019 and a ranking of 120 compared to a score of 33 and ranking of 117 in 2018. Pakistan’s score is below the average of 43 … [Read more...]