Haq's Musings

Riaz Haq writes this data-driven blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on many topics. Subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia, South Asian community, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://www.southasiainvestor.com and a YouTube video channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrIDyFbC9N9evXYb9cA_gQ

Friday, December 19, 2025

Pakistan Pharma Begins Domestic Production of GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs

Several Pakistani pharmaceutical companies have started domestic production of generic versions of GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) drugs Ozempic/Wegovy (Semaglutide) and Mounjaro/Zeptide (Tirzepatide). Priced significantly lower than the branded imports, these domestically manufactured generic drugs will increase Pakistanis' access and affordability to address the obesity crisis in the country, resulting in lower disease burdens and improved life quality and longer life expectancy. Obesity causes diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases (NCD) which are now among the leading causes of death in Pakistan.

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Companies

BF Biosciences, Ferozsons, Getz Pharma and GD Searle Co are among the leading pharma producers of both injectable and pill versions of the GLP-1 and GIP drugs in Pakistan. Over the last few years, these drugs have revolutionized treatment of diabetes and obesity. Now, Pakistani pharmaceutical companies have begun manufacturing biosimilar versions of these therapies locally, marking a major milestone in access and affordability. Biosimilars are biologic medicines developed to match the safety, efficacy, and quality of their international counterparts, approved only after rigorous regulatory evaluation, according to Pakistani media reports.

Obesity Risk Among Men. Source: World Obesity Atlas

The obesity crisis has become a global health emergency with over a billion people living with obesity in the world, creating global opportunities for weight-loss drugmakers. Rapidly rising rates of obesity in adults and children are being blamed on factors like processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, and stress, leading to serious conditions like diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, and huge healthcare costs, requiring multifaceted solutions including policy changes, better nutrition, and integrated healthcare.

Obesity Risk Among Women. Source: World Obesity Atlas

Pakistani drugmakers are planning to export these weight-loss and diabetes drugs in the near future. Over a dozen pharma companies are upgrading factories with a total investment of more than $500 million to ensure their medications and factories are compliant with overseas regulations, said Javed Ghulam Mohammad, chief executive officer at Martin Dow Group. His company is a member of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, which is backing the effort. The sector’s push comes as the nation looks to increase overall exports to lift the economy.

The country's drug exports have increased the most in two decades in the fiscal year ending in June, 2025, growing 34% to $457 million, according to the association. Pharmaceutical shipments have the potential to reach $5 billion in eight years if the overseas push is successful, Mohammad said. That would make pharmaceuticals among Pakistan’s largest product exports, according to Bloomberg.

Monday, December 15, 2025

WIR 2026: Income and Wealth Inequality in India, Pakistan and the World

The top 1% of Indians own 40.1% of the nation's wealth, higher than the 37% global average. This makes India one of the world's most unequal countries, according to the World Inequality Report. By contrast, the top 1% own 24% of the country's wealth in Pakistan, and 23.9% in Bangladesh. Tiny groups of wealthy elites (top 1%) are using their money to buy mass media to manipulate public opinion for their own benefit. They are paying politicians for highly favorable laws and policies to further consolidate their power. It is a phenomenon known as "elite capture".

Wealth Inequality. Source: World Inequality Report 2026

"Extreme wealth inequality is persistent and increasing" in all parts of the world, says the report published by World Inequality Lab of the Paris School of Economics. This has serious economic, political and social implications. It is undermining democracies and empowering billionaires at the expense of the common people, including the middle class (middle 40%) and the poor (bottom 50%).

Income Inequality. Source: World Inequality Report 2026

Income inequality is trending in the same way as wealth inequality. The income of the top 1% of Indians stands at 22.6% of the national income. The income of the top 1% of Pakistanis is 16.2% of the country's income, significantly lower than the 20% global average. The income and wealth distribution in Bangladesh is similar to Pakistan's.

Widening Income Gap in India. Source: WIR2026

Persistent Income Gap in Pakistan. Source: WIR2026

The global average monthly income is 1200 Euros but there are huge differences among various regions of the world. The South and South East Asia region remains among the poorest, but its average monthly income of 600 Euros is twice that of sub-Saharan Africa. North America's monthly income of 3,800 Euros is the highest while sub-Saharan Africa's 300 Euros is the lowest in the world.

Regional Income Disparities. Source: WIR2026

Global Inequality Change From 1980 to 2025. Source: Bloomberg

The report documents how the global financial system reinforces inequality. Wealthy economies continue to benefit from an “exorbitant privilege”: each year, around 1% of global GDP (approximately three times as much as development aid) flows from poorer to richer nations through net foreign income transfers associated with persistent excess yields and lower interest payments on rich-country liabilities. Reversing this dynamic is central to any credible strategy for global equity.

Elite Capture in South Asia

Food in Pakistan 2nd Cheapest in the World

India in Crisis: Unemployment and Hunger Persist After COVID

IMF Questions Modi's GDP Data

Record Number of Indians Seeking Asylum in US

Ambani Wedding, Indian Billionaires and Bollywood

Incomes of Poorest Pakistanis Growing Faster Than Their Richest Counterparts

Pakistanis Consuming More Calories, Fruits & Vegetables Per Capita

How Grim is Pakistan's Social Sector Progress?

Pakistan Fares Marginally Better Than India On Disease Burdens

COVID Lockdown Decimates India's Middle Class

Pakistan Child Health Indicators

Pakistan's Balance of Payments Crisis

How Has India Built Large Forex Reserves Despite Perennial Trade Deficits

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

Pakistan Gets its First AI Data Center

Data Vault and Telenor Pakistan have launched the nation's first dedicated AI data center in Karachi. It is designed to support startups, researchers, and government agencies with high-performance computing and GPU-as-a-service offerings. It is equipped with more than 3,000 Nvidia's highest performance H100 and H200 GPUs for which the Trump Administration issued export licenses. These GPUs cost from $40,000 to $60,000 each, making the Nvidia chips the biggest chunk of the investment made in this AI data center. Other data centers in Pakistan also support AI workloads but this new data center in Karachi is specially designed for AI. It puts the country on a short list of only a handful of nations with locally hosted AI data centers. Pakistanis rank among the world's top five users of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, securing the fourth spot among 21 nations surveyed by the Schwartz Reisman Institute.

The local hosting of data in Pakistan ensures data sovereignty to comply with national data protection and security standards. It also achieves faster response times for queries. The data center runs entirely on solar power, making it a green data center solution. Additionally, the government of Pakistan has allocated 2,000 MW of power from the national grid for AI data centers.

One of the objectives of locally hosted AI data centers is to support Urdu language models (LLMs) trained to help Pakistani consumers who wish to use AI chatbots in local languages. A number of Urdu LLMs have already been developed in the country, including Alif and UrduLlama, both based on the open-source Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct architecture. Another model named UrduGPT is described as Pakistan's own large language model, UrduGPT is fine-tuned specifically for Urdu and regional languages of Pakistan using local datasets and cultural semantics to ensure relevance for native speakers.

Currently, Pakistan has 27 data centers located in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, operated by PTCL, Multinet, and Cybernet. More are being built. Zong, a local mobile phone service operator owned by China Mobile, is building AI-driven cloud infrastructure in Pakistan. Indus Cloud and Huawei have a strategic partnership that aims to launch a next-generation cloud data center, incorporating energy-efficient Huawei technology. XDS and Al Nahal IT Park are partnering to build a liquid-cooled data center at the Al Nahal IT Park in Sindh province. Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL), the state-owned oil and gas firm, is diversifying by forming a subsidiary, Mari Technologies, to build Tier III and Tier IV data centers in Islamabad and Karachi, with the 5MW Islamabad facility set for completion by early 2026.

RAAST: Pakistan's Instant Payment System

Pakistan to Develop Urdu Large Language Model (LLM)

Algorithm: Origins of Artificial Intelligence in Islamic Age

Digital Pakistan 2022: Broadband Penetration Soars to 90% of 15+ Population

STEM Enrollment in Pakistan Exceeds One Million

Digital Public Infrastructure in Pakistan

Generative AI Buzz in Pakistan

Is Pakistan Ready for the AI Revolution?

Growing Presence of Pakistani Women in Science and Technology

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Sunday, December 7, 2025

World Bank: Pakistan is 88% Urbanized

The World Bank researchers have recently concluded that 88 per cent live in urban areas. Their conclusion is based on satellite imagery and the Degree of Urbanization (DoU) methodology. The official Pakistani figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) put the current level of urbanization at 39%. The source of this massive discrepancy is the government's reliance on administrative boundaries rather than population density and settlement patterns, according to the World Bank working research paper titled "When Does a Village Become a Town?".

Urbanization in Pakistan. Source: World Bank

Urban areas are characterized by high population density, while rural areas are sparsely populated with more open space. Major differences include urban areas having more commercial development, diverse job opportunities, and a faster pace of life, while rural areas often focus on agriculture and have a slower pace of life with closer-knit communities but may face challenges with limited access to services.

The World Bank’s Paper suggests that secondary cities and peri-urban areas — rather than megacities — are the primary drivers of recent urban expansion which are systematically overlooked in official Pakistani classifications. This discrepancy between functional and administrative classifications has significant fiscal and planning implications.

Pakistan's official data grossly underestimates urbanization, with Islamabad showing only 47% urban population compared to 90% under the DoU, while figures in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh are more closely aligned. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DoU estimates the urban population at nearly three times the official 15%, while Islamabad is mostly dense urban, and other provinces show mixed suburban and peri-urban growth. The report finds that Pakistan’s urban landscape has transformed dramatically over the past two decades. Since the early 2000s, a growing share of the rural population has left agriculture, transforming previously rural settlements into new and vibrant urban centers. Unlike Afghanistan, India and sub-Saharan Africa, the agriculture sector is no longer the top employer in Pakistan. Services sector is now the top employment sector in the country.

Top Employment Sector in Each Country. Source: Visual Capitalist

The policy research paper finds that misclassified areas reduce property tax revenues and undermine the planning and provision of critical public services. It also distorts spatial socioeconomic indicators, masking the true extent of urban-rural disparities and complicating the design of effective, evidence-based public policy.

Urbanization Comparison of Developing Nations Based on DoU Method

The DoU method facilitates cross-national comparisons, as it provides a consistent criteria. Application of the DoU reveals that, despite variation across urban typologies, the proportion of the population residing in urban areas exceeds 70 percent in all examined countries. The list (fig 2) includes Brazil and Pakistan (98% each). Bangladesh (79%), Egypt (83%), India (77%) and Mexico (82%).

The paper finds that Pakistan is among only a minority of countries that use purely administrative definitions to identify urban areas. Changing how the country determines urban areas to include population density, service access, and other urban characteristics will allow it, as the DoU shows, to account for a varied urban landscape. Recognizing the existence of areas between dense cities and rural villages can help to establish a staggered expansion of the areas subject to property taxes. Updating the urban classification could increase property taxes sevenfold, and new technologies can help modernize cadaster systems. Besides supporting the reclassification of what areas are urban, satellite data offers additional possibilities to identify properties and update the cadasters.

Sunday, November 30, 2025

IMF Questions Modi's GDP Data: Is India's Economy Half the Size of the Official Claim?

The Indian government reported faster-than-expected GDP growth of 8.2% for the September quarter. It came as a surprise to many economists who were expecting a slowdown based on the recent high-frequency indicators such as consumer goods sales and durable goods production, as well as two-wheeler sales. At the same time, The International Monetary Fund expressed doubts about the Indian government's GDP data.

The IMF has recently expressed doubts about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP government's GDP data. It has particularly questioned the government's statistical methodologies, inflation measurement, and the estimates of the informal economy used in reporting the country's gross domestic product. Professor Arun Kumar of Jawaharlal Nehru University believes the IMF's concerns are valid. He thinks the real size of India's economy is only half of what is officially claimed. “The economy is almost 50% wrong – when the government says it’s $3.8 trillion, my estimate is it is probably still $2.5 trillion because we are overestimating the unorganized sector, which is actually declining. This is building up over a period of time,” Kumar told Indian journalist Karan Thapar.

In its recent assessment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given a "C" grade to India's national accounts. In particular, the IMF has raised the issue of the government using 2011-12 as the base year as being outdated, the discrepancy between production and consumption data and the use of Wholesale Price Index, and not a Producer Price Index, to deflate many economic activities to derive real GDP from nominal GDP.

The source of the biggest error is the way India estimates the informal economy which, including agriculture, accounts for almost 45% of GDP. To do so, India uses the formal sector as a proxy to estimate the performance of the informal sector. But if the two sectors are moving in opposite directions, as has happened after demonetization, GST imposition and the pandemic, you could end up overestimating the unorganized sector.

Indian-American economist Ashoka Mody, author of "India is Broken", has argued that the current unemployment crisis in India is a direct result of the destruction of the informal sector, particularly the mom and pop stores that employed a large number of Indians.

Questions about the veracity of India's official GDP figures are not new. These have been raised by many top economists. For example, French economist Thomas Piketty argues in his best seller "Capital in the Twenty-First Century that the GDP growth rates of India and China are exaggerated. Picketty writes as follows:

"Note, too, that the very high official growth figures for developing countries (especially India and China) over the past few decades are based almost exclusively on production statistics. If one tries to measure income growth by using household survey data, it is often quite difficult to identify the reported rates of macroeconomic growth: Indian and Chinese incomes are certainly increasing rapidly, but not as rapidly as one would infer from official growth statistics. This paradox-sometimes referred to as the "black hole" of growth-is obviously problematic. It may be due to the overestimation of the growth of output (there are many bureaucratic incentives for doing so), or perhaps the underestimation of income growth (households have their own flaws)), or most likely both. In particular, the missing income may be explained by the possibility that a disproportionate share of the growth in output has gone to the most highly remunerated individuals, whose incomes are not always captured in the tax data." "In the case of India, it is possible to estimate (using tax return data) that the increase in the upper centile's share of national income explains between one-quarter and one-third of the "black hole" of growth between 1990 and 2000. "

Monday, November 24, 2025

Retail Investor Growth Driving Pakistan's Bull Market

Pakistan's benchmark index KSE-100 has soared nearly 40% so far in 2025, becoming Asia's best performing market, thanks largely to phenomenal growth of retail investors. About 36,000 new trading accounts in the South Asian country were opened in the September quarter, compared to 23,600 new registrations just three months ago, according to Topline Securities, a brokerage house in Pakistan. Broad and deep participation in capital markets is essential for economic growth and wealth distribution in any country.

Pakistan's KSE-100 Index Chart. Source: Bloomberg

Increase in trading accounts is helping inflows into local equity mutual funds as well. As much as 16% of total assets managed by asset management companies is now invested in stocks at the end of September, up from 9% at the start of the year, according to data from the Mutual Funds Association of Pakistan, as recently reported by Bloomberg.

Pakistan Investment Accounts Growth. Source: Bloomberg

Massive growth in retail investors is being enabled by increasing digital penetration in Pakistan. The country now boasts 152 million broadband subscribers, bringing the digital penetration to 61.1% as of October 2025, according to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA). Pakistan ranks among the world's top 10 nations in terms of Internet and smartphone users. Most of the brokerage houses now offer online trading accounts and mobile apps for retail investors.

Pakistan Telecommunications Indicators. Source: PTA

KSE-100 companies profitability has grown over 13% in 2025. Stocks in the KSE-100 index have an average dividend yield of approximately 5.81% to 5.9%, with a historical average closer to 6.11%. The current yield is considered attractive, especially when compared to its 15-year average price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.59x, which is a significant discount to other emerging markets which are currently trading at a P/E ratio of 15.86x.

Sharp Drop in Pakistan's Debt Default Risk. Source: Bloomberg

Pakistan’s debt default risk has seen a sharp drop as the country’s economy has stabilized under an IMF program. The nation's GDP for the April-June period grew at 5.66%, higher than the 3.1% expansion predicted by economists in a Bloomberg survey. The large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector saw 4.08% growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Pakistan is experiencing rapid growth in Fintech (financial technology) applications. The country's journey to build a digital public infrastructure (DPI) began in March 2000 with the establishment of NADRA, the National Database and Registration Authority. The Gates Foundation defines DPI as follows: "DPI is a digital network that enables countries to safely and efficiently deliver economic opportunities and social services to all residents. DPI can be compared to roads, which form a physical network that connects people and provides access to a huge range of goods and services...... strong DPI has three foundational systems—identity, payments, and data exchange—that together can make life easier in important ways".

RAAST: Pakistan's Instant Payment System

2021: A Banner Year For Tech Startups in Pakistan

Pakistan Projected to Be World's 6th Largest Economy By 2075

Digital Pakistan 2022: Broadband Penetration Soars to 90% of 15+ Population

Working Women Seeding a Silent Revolution in Pakistan

Socioeconomic Impact of New Infrastructure in Rural Pakistan

Solar Power Boom in Pakistan

Pakistan at 75

Growing Presence of Pakistani Women in Science and Technology

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Monday, November 17, 2025

PIMEC 2025: Pakistan Plans to Boost Maritime Sector, Blue Economy

Pakistan recently held its second International Maritime Expo and Conference (PIMEC-25) in Karachi where it announced ambitious plans to expand its maritime sector and boost its blue economy. It is an initiative of the Pakistan Navy, organized under the patronage of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. The country plans to invest a $100 billion in maritime development by expanding its national shipping fleet, building three new deep sea ports, adding a new shipyard at Gwadar, modernizing its fisheries, and upgrading maritime education. The plan called "Maritime @100" focuses on turning Pakistan into a regional maritime hub for trade, energy, food, and sustainability. It aims to increase the sector's GDP contribution from the current 0.4%-0.8% to 4% by 2047.

PIMEC 2025. Source: Lovin Karachi

Pakistan has a 1,046 kilometers long coastline on the Arabian Sea with maritime sovereignty over 200 nautical miles deep Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and 150 nautical miles of Continental Shelf. This adds 290,000 square kilometers of sea or about 36% of the country's land area open for tapping vast resources in it.

Pakistan's "Blue Economy" in this extended economic zone includes seafood and energy resources as well as international trade connectivity with the rest of the world. It offers opportunities for water sports, recreation and tourism in the coastal areas of Pakistan. The country recently awarded licenses for 23 offshore exploration blocks to four consortiums led by local energy companies, some partnered with foreign firms including Turkey's national oil company TPAO. These blocks cover an area of 53,500 square kilometers.

PIMEC-25 attracted 178 exhibitors, including 28 international firms and 150 local organizations, alongside 133 international delegations representing 44 countries from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East. Participants showcased a wide array of innovations, from uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and drone jamming guns to advanced port technologies, showcasing Pakistan’s growing role in regional maritime trade.

Zarwah Enterprises, a startup led by Minahil Yousaf, Pakistan’s first female-led aquaculture company, demonstrated sustainable pond construction and shrimp farming solutions. AquaTech Fisheries, founded by Muhammad Kamran and Ahmad Hussain, presented innovative fish feed and aquaponics systems across Pakistan, including new farms in Punjab.

Woot Tech and Winged Innovative Solutions (WIS) rolled out remote-controlled drones and unmanned surface vessels (USVs) equipped with rotary cameras, designed for surveillance, mapping, and cloud seeding. WIS showcased an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for deep-sea repairs and a portable jammer system for military use. These gadgets highlight how homegrown tech Karachi maritime solutions are supporting both commercial and naval operations.

The National Electronics Complex of Pakistan (NECOP) demonstrated the SAFRAH drone jamming gun, which can disable drones up to 1.5 km away for 40 minutes. NECOP also displayed a maritime logistics drone and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), letting ships monitor multiple systems from a single control point. Another Pakistani defense firm revealed a 25-foot remote-controlled USV capable of traveling 30 km and running for up to five hours.

PakAlumni Social Network

Monday, November 10, 2025

NED University Alum's Chip Startup Acquired by ARM For $265 Million

DreamBig, a fabless semiconductor company founded by NED University alumnus Sohail Syed, has been acquired by Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) for $265 million. The Silicon Valley-based startup is developing networking chips for data centers, with hardware specifically designed to run AI applications. The startup does not manufacture its own chips but instead licenses its designs to other semiconductor companies. It has had a partnership with Samsung’s foundry division to bring its hardware to market.

Sohail Syed, Founder and CEO of DreamBig Semiconductors

Here's how DreamBig Semiconductor describes itself on its website:

"DreamBig Semiconductor is a chiplet-based networking company dedicated to providing comprehensive, high throughput solutions for the AI, Datacenter, edge compute and Automotive markets. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, USA, we have over 200 employees globally and partnerships with the largest semiconductor companies in the world. Founded by RDMA experts and chiplet innovators, DreamBig removes the bottlenecks to on- and off-chip networking, transforming the most important applications on the planet".

Nvidia and several other AI chip companies have licensed ARM's processor core technology for use it in products. Major tech companies including Amazon, Apple, Google, Qualcomm and Samsung are among the ARM licensees. ARM's processor cores are known for their energy efficiency and are widely used in mobile devices, but are increasingly found in servers, desktops, and other applications that require good performance-per-watt. Examples include the Apple M-series processors, which are custom ARM-based CPUs for Macs. Most of the advanced semiconductor chips are manufactured by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp) in its fabs located in Taiwan.

DreamBig Semiconductor has established a design center in Pakistan in collaboration with the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), which includes a chip design and training center and a chip testing lab. It is a part of Pakistan's broader effort to develop its semiconductor industry, and DreamBig has also sponsored training workshops at universities like the NED University in Karachi and the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore.

Pakistan has recently launched The INSPIRE Pakistan initiative to train a new generation of semiconductor professionals and enter the global chip design and research market. The initiative, formally named Initiative to Nurture Semiconductor Professionals for Industry, Research & Education, is a five-year plan designed to train over 7,200 professionals and establish Integrated Circuit (IC) labs in universities across the country. It aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, develop local tech capacity, and position Pakistan as a player in the global semiconductor ecosystem.

Dr. Naveed Sherwani, an NED University alumnus and a serial Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has been instrumental in launching INSPIRE Pakistan initiative. He headed the task force that recommended the initiative to the Pakistani government. Dr. Sherwani is currently the head of the National Semiconductor Hub in Saudi Arabia which aims to attract and develop semiconductor design industry in the Kingdom.

Semiconductors power modern life, forming the core of everything from computers and networking to smartphones and military weapons. Countries such as Pakistan need the knowledge and the human capital trained in semiconductor technology for their long-term economic prosperity and national security. The global semiconductor market size is currently about $600 billion and it is growing rapidly.

HS-1 Satellite: Pakistan's Eye in the Sky

Growing China-Pakistan Space Collaboration

Pakistani Military Launches Defense AI Program

Pakistani Students Enrollment in US Colleges and Universities Soaring

Silicon Valley Pakistanis

STEM Enrollment in Pakistan Exceeds One Million

Silicon Valley Helping Build Pakistan's Human Capital

Marvell Acquires NED Alum Raghib Husain's Company For $7.5 Billion

Is Pakistan Ready for the AI Revolution?

Growing Presence of Pakistani Women in Science and Technology

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani Makes History in New York City

"Ana minkum wa alaikum" declared Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City in his victory speech on November 4, 2025. The phrase translates to "I am from you and and I am with you". "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant", he added. Mamdani is the first Muslim and first immigrant of South Asian descent elected New York City Mayor. At 34, he is not only the youngest but also the first mayor of the Big Apple who was born in Africa.

Zohran Mamdani Speaking Outside the Bronx Islamic Center

With his landslide victory in the mayoral race, Mandani will join London Mayor Sadiq Khan to become the second Muslim mayor of a major western city. Mamdani became the first New York mayoral candidate to win over a million votes since the 1960s — more than Rudy Giuliani or Mike Bloomberg ever received. Mamdani has received 50.4% of the votes counted so far. Cuomo is at 41.6%. Republican Curtis Sliwa is at 7.1%. Mayor Sadiq Khan is serving his third term as the mayor of London. He is of Pakistani descent, as are mayors of several other major British cities.

Zohran Mamdani beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo twice, first in the primary and then in the general election, to win on Tuesday. He won in spite of the fact that many prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the New York senator, refused to endorse him. Mamdani was also vastly outspent by Cuomo, who was backed by a group of Zionist billionaires. President Trump endorsed Cuomo and repeatedly threatened to cut off federal funds to New York if Mamdani won.

Mandani received strong support from Muslims in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. Muhammad Javed of AppLovin tech firm donated $251,500 to New Yorkers for Lower Costs, a super-PAC backing Zohran Mamdani. Omer Hasan gave $250,000 to this super PAC. Other Mamdani super PAC donors include Liz Simons, Philanthropist, and daughter of hedge-fund billionaire Jim Simons, who gave $250,000 and Unity & Justice Fund, the political arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR, that gave $100,000. But the biggest support has come from small donors to the Mamdani campaign. It has received a lot more money from small-dollar donors. In August 2025, Mamdani's campaign had raised over $1 million from more than 8,600 private donors, with half of the individual donations being less than $25. His campaign also got millions in public matching funds due to this strong small-dollar donor support.

Mamdani was attacked by his opponents for his Muslim faith. In one appearance, Cuomo agreed with a racist radio host who suggested a Muslim elected official would ‘cheer’ another 9/11. In response, Mamdani made an emotional speech outside a mosque in which he said: "I will not change who I am. I will not change how I eat. I will not change the faith that I am proud to belong to. But there is one thing I will change: I will no longer look for myself in the shadows".

It is particularly noteworthy that Zohran Mamdani, a pro-Palestinian candidate who accuses Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza, won in New York City which has the world's second largest population Jews after Tel Aviv. During his mayoral campaign, the Zionist-dominated US media kept asking him and other candidates whether Israel would be their first foreign visit if they got elected. Mamdani said no, he would stay in New York City to serve the people. All other candidates in the race pandered to the powerful Israel lobby by saying Israel would be their first foreign visit. Mamdani's win shows that total unqualified support of Israel is not essential to win elections in the United States.

Among the most vocal opponents of Mamdani are Zionist and Hindutva groups in America. This opposition is based on his strong criticism of Indian Prime Minister Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has called Modi a "war criminal," drawing parallels between him and Netanyahu. He has repeatedly vowed that, if elected mayor, he would order the New York Police Department (NYPD) to arrest Netanyahu should the Israeli Prime Minister travel to New York.

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Pakistan's Rising Arms Sales to Developing Nations

Pakistan is emerging as a major arms supplier to developing countries in Asia and Africa. Azerbaijan, Myanmar, Nigeria and Sudan have all made significant arms purchases from Pakistan in recent years. Azerbaijan expanded its order for JF-17 Thunder Block III multi-role fighter jets from Pakistan from 16 to 40 aircraft. The recent order extends a 2024 contract worth $1.6 billion to modernize Baku’s airborne combat fleet to $4.6 billion. This makes Azerbaijan the largest export customer of the Pakistan-made warplane. Bangladesh is negotiating purchase of up to 32 JF-17 Thunder Block III aircraft from Pakistan.

Pakistan PFX Concept Fighter. Source: Raksha Anirveda

In Africa, Pakistan has recently signed a $1.5 billion contract to supply combat drones and military trainer aircraft. The order includes 150 armored vehicles, 220 drones and 10 K-8 Karakorum trainer/light attack aircraft. Earlier in 2021, Pakistan sold three JF-17 Thunder fighter jets and ten Super Mushshak trainer aircraft to Nigeria in a deal worth nearly $200 million. From 2018 to 2021, Pakistan sold 11 JF-17 Thunder Block I aircraft to Myanmar.

Air forces of about a dozen developing nations are buying and deploying Pakistani made aircrafts. The reasons for their choice of combat-tested Pakistan manufactured airplanes include advanced BVR (beyond visual range) features, affordability and ease of acquisition, maintenance and training.

Pakistan started developing defense hardware for import substitution to reduce external dependence and to save hard currency. Now the country's defense industry is coming of age to lead the way to high value-added manufactured exports.

Pakistan has unveiled its PFX (Pakistan Fighter Experimental) program as a significant upgrade to its JF-17 joint program with China. The new upgrade will have a number of stealth features ranging from the use of radar-absorbing composite materials and diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI) to internal weapons bay (IWB) which will significantly reduce the aircraft's radar signature. It is targeted for completion by the end of this decade. In addition, the PFX's twin-engine design will improve maneuverability and allow greater payload capacity.

The program is part of Pakistan's broader strategy to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and strengthen the domestic defense industry. Currently, 58% of JF-17 components are manufactured locally by PAC, but Pakistan aims to increase this share to achieve full production autonomy for the PFX. It is not just about the PAF modernization but also about positioning Pakistan as an important player in the global military aviation market.

The PFX is an evolution of a plan that Pakistan announced in 2017 to develop and produce 5th generation fighter planes. It is part of Pakistan Air Force's highly ambitious Project Azm that includes building Kamra Aviation City dedicated to education, research and development and manufacturing of advanced fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and weapon systems.

The PAF has already started replacing its aging fleet with the induction of the Chinese J10C fighter jets which are considered 4.5 Gen. The J10-C has stealth features like diverterless supersonic inlets (DSI). Its BVR capability is supported by PL-15 missiles, with an engagement range of up to 200 kilometers, facilitating long-range target engagements.

The PAF has also begun the process of acquiring 5th generation Chinese J35 fighter jets. The delivery of 40 J35 fighters to Pakistan is expected within two years, potentially altering regional dynamics, particularly concerning India.