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

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Clean Energy Revolution: Soaring Solar Energy Battery Storage in Pakistan

Pakistan imported an estimated 1.25 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of lithium-ion battery packs in 2024 and another 400 megawatt-hours (MWh) in the first two months of 2025, according to a research report by the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). The report projects these imports to reach 8.75 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030.

Battery Storage Growth in Pakistan. Source: IEEFA

Chinese battery packs have become particularly affordable with rapidly declining prices due to falling raw material costs, overcapacity in manufacturing, and increased production efficiency. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries have become the most affordable packs, with prices at $75 per kilowatt-hour as of last year, according to Statista.

Pakistan is investing in battery storage projects to improve grid stability, integrate renewable energy sources, and reduce reliance on traditional power sources. These projects are being developed by both public and private entities, with significant funding from international organizations like the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Typical Rooftop Solar Home With Battery

While negatively impacting demand for grid electricity in the short term, the increasing use of battery storage solutions by rooftop solar consumers will likely improve grid stability, integrate renewable energy sources, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Here's how the IEEFA report explains it:

"The grid should adapt to changing consumer dynamics and increasing adoption of alternative energy sources. BESS (Battery Energy Storage Solutions) has inherent peak shaving abilities, which could work to the grid’s advantage and result in cost savings by reducing centralized generation. As more distributed solar systems operate, the grid is already experiencing peak-demand shifting. Consumers with solar PV installations defect from the grid during the day but reappear during the night, leading to declining minimum demand during the day but a rising peak demand during the evening (known as the duck curve). Daytime demand is expected to decrease even further if rapid solarization continues, which may jeopardize system stability. Instances of extremely low demand, such as during holidays, may cause utilities to trip, leading to the risk of grid failure. Conversely, the surge in evening peak requires a quick rampup of fossil fuel-based power generation".

Battery packs are the most expensive components of electric vehicles today. Lower battery pack prices will make electric vehicles more affordable, leading to wider adoption and lower transport emissions. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, Pakistan is pushing to grow electric vehicle adoption. The country’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy for 2025–2030 targets 30% of all new vehicles to be electric by 2030, rising to 90% by 2040.

Pakistan has contributed only 0.28% of the CO2 emissions but it is among the biggest victims of climate change. The US, Europe, India, China and Japan, the world's biggest polluters, must accept responsibility for the catastrophic floods in Pakistan and climate disasters elsewhere. A direct link of the disaster in Pakistan to climate change has been confirmed by a team of 26 scientists affiliated with World Weather Attribution, a research initiative that specializes in rapid studies of extreme events, according to the New York Times.

Sunday, June 8, 2025

Builder.AI: Yet Another Global Indian Scam?

A London-based startup builder.ai, founded by an Indian named Sachin Dev Duggal, recently filed for bankruptcy after its ‘neural network’ was discovered to be 700 Indians coding in India. The company promoted its "code-building AI" to be as easy as "ordering pizza". It was backed by nearly half a billion dollar investment by top tech investors including Microsoft. The company was valued at $1.5 billion. This is the latest among a series of global scams originating in India.

In recent years, India has emerged as a major hub for global scams. The US government has alleged in court documents that a large enterprise originating from India was involved in stealing nearly $1.5 billion from elderly Americans. Recently, two Indian nationals, Pranay Mamindi and Kishan Patel, were found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy, concealing the source of the money, and using the illegally gained money to further promote a criminal enterprise. Six other defendants from India also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

These global scams appear to have started amid widespread unemployment in India. Many of the scammers previously worked in call centers where they learned to use computers and telecommunications networks to reach out and talk to Americans. In 2022, U.S. citizens fell victim to a massive loss of over $10 billion from phishing calls orchestrated by illegal Indian call centers, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Indian-Americans, too, have been found guilty in a number of high-profile scams. A federal jury convicted former Theranos executive Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, an Indian-American entrepreneur, on all 12 counts of fraud in 2022. Balwani was born in 1965 in Pakistan to a Sindhi Hindu family. His one-time girlfriend and partner Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was convicted on similar charges earlier that year. Both face up to 20 years in prison.

Last year, a federal judge sentenced former Outcome Health CEO Rishi Shah, an Indian-American, to 7½ years in prison for a massive fraud scheme that prosecutors say enabled a “jet-set lifestyle” featuring private aircraft, yachts and a tony Chicago home.

In 2020, Dr. John Nath Kapoor, Indian-American CEO of Insys Therapeutics, was found guilty of conspiring to recklessly and illegally boost profits from the opioid painkiller Subsys, a fentanyl spray designed to be absorbed under the tongue, according to multiple media reports.

Rajat Gupta, an Indian-American former global head of McKinsey & Company, was convicted of insider trading in 2012. He was charged with passing on confidential business information about Goldman Sachs to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta was found guilty on multiple counts of conspiracy and securities fraud and served a two-year prison sentence.

India Ranks Number One For Misinformation and Disinformation

Beyond the hub of scams and frauds, it seems that India has earned a reputation as the epicenter of misinformation and disinformation. According to experts surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Risk Report, India was ranked highest for the risk of misinformation and disinformation. This was on full display during the recent conflict with Pakistan.

After the recent Pahalgam militant attack in Kashmir, the Indian government immediately blamed it on Pakistan without any investigation or evidence. More than a month later, the perpetrators have neither been clearly identified nor apprehended. And yet, the government of Prime Minister Modi proceeded with air strikes inside Pakistan. Pakistan retaliated and shot down several Indian fighter jets, including its most advanced French Rafales. The conflict began to quickly escalate with strikes and counter-strikes, with the world fearing a nuclear exchange. This prompted the United States and several other countries to intervene and force a ceasefire in less than 4 days of armed conflict.

During this short 4-day period, the Indian mainstream media was filled with lies. Here's how the Washington Post reported this: "Times Now Navbharat reported that Indian forces had entered Pakistan; TV9 Bharatvarsh told viewers that Pakistan’s prime minister had surrendered; Bharat Samachar said he was hiding in a bunker. All of them, along with some of the country’s largest channels — including Zee News, ABP News and NDTV — repeatedly proclaimed that major Pakistani cities had been destroyed".

It is unfortunate but true: Fraud and falsehood have become endemic in the Indian society. Part of the blame falls squarely on the ruling BJP party which promotes falsehoods. In 2018, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's right-hand man and home minister Amit Shah told his party's volunteers commonly known as Modi Bhakts: "We can keep making messages go viral, whether they are real or fake, sweet or sour". "Keep making messages go viral. We have already made a WhatsApp group with 32 lakh people in Uttar Pradesh; every morning they are sent a message at 8 am", Shah added, according to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper.

PakAlumni Social Network

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Pakistan's Homegrown Link-17 Kill Chain Helped Shoot Down India's Rafale Fighter Jets

Using a homegrown datalink (Link-17) communication system, Pakistan has integrated its ground radars with a variety of fighter jets and airborne early warning aircraft (Swedish Erieye AWACS) to achieve high level of situational awareness in the battlefield, according to experts familiar with the technology developed and deployed by the Pakistan Air Force. This integration allows quick execution of a "kill chain" to target and destroy enemy aircraft, according to experts. This capability was demonstrated recently in the India-Pakistan aerial battle of May 7-8 that resulted in the downing of several Indian fighter jets, including the French-made Rafale.

Pakistan PAF's Homegrown Link-17. Source: Secret Projects

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets fired the Chinese PL-15 air-to-air missiles and shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle, according to multiple media and intelligence reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to the Pakistani military.

Speaking on a recent podcast, Michael Dahm, a senior fellow at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, said the kill chain may have started with a Pakistani ground radar—“maybe a surface-to-air missile system, or some other type of radar system”—which “illuminated the Indian target.” Then, a Pakistani J-10C fighter “launched its missiles, probably at range, and finally, an airborne early warning and control aircraft used a midcourse datalink to update and guide the missile to the Indian fighter.” “The Pakistani Air Force deployed …’ A’ launched by ‘B’ and guided by ‘C’” and hit the target, he added.

PAF Kill Chain During Op Sindoor. Source: Blackbird

Link-17 enables secure and jam-resistant voice and data exchanges between connected assets. Combined with electronic warfare, it allows the Pakistani military to control the electromagnetic spectrum, giving access to the enemy communications and denying them access to their own. It also enables networked participants to view in real-time each other’s sensor feeds, which could come from radars, sonars, electro-optical (EO) systems such as cameras, and others. Link-17 has given the PAF a network protocol that it can use with a wide range of aerial assets, especially domestically driven programs, such as the JF-17 Thunder.

Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, it must be understood that the way the technology is actually deployed in the battlefield is as important in achieving good results as the technology itself. Also, the men count as much, if not more than, the machines. The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world". In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt".

Saturday, May 24, 2025

American Prof John Mearsheimer on International Geopolitics in South Asia

Professor John Mearsheimer, a renowned international relations expert known for his theory of "offensive realism", has recently spoken to India's CNN-News18 about the impact of US-China competition on geopolitics in South Asia. Sharing his thoughts in interviews on India-Pakistan conflict after the Pahalgam attack, he said: "There is really no military solution to this (Kashmir) problem. The only way this can be solved once and for all is through a political solution that both sides find acceptable".

Professor John Mearsheimer on India-Pakistan Conflict

Professor John Mearsheimer is a highly respected professor of political science at the University of Chicago. Here's how he introduces himself on his personal website: "I am the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Chicago, where I have taught since 1982. Above all else, I am an international relations theorist. More specifically, I am a realist, which means that I believe that the great powers dominate the international system, and they constantly engage in security competition with each other, which sometimes leads to war".

He has said that neither China nor the US want a full-scale war between India and Pakistan that could escalate into a nuclear war. However, it is in China's interest to "see significant tensions between India and Pakistan to get India to devote a lot of its strategic thinking and resources against Pakistan" rather than on China. The US, on the other hand, wants India to focus all its energies on countering China.

Talking about the recent "Operation Sindoor" launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi against Pakistan, Mearsheimer said it will not deter Pakistan. "By Operation Sindoor, India has responded like it has in the past. Don't think India wants a major war with Pakistan, it can't dominate on the lower or even the middle rungs of the escalation ladder", he said.

On Chinese involvement in South Asia, Mearsheimer said: "China-Pakistan relations are quite good. The Chinese are providing excellent weaponry to Pakistan and will provide even better weapons in future". "I don’t think China wants an India-Pakistan war but it wants to see significant tensions between India and Pakistan to get India to devote a lot of its strategic thinking and resources against Pakistan", he added.

Talking about the US interest in South Asia, he said: "When it comes to countering China, India is the most important country for the US in South Asia. But the US also wants to maintain good relations with Pakistan to try to peel it away from China".

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Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Has Pakistan Destroyed India's S-400 Air Defense System at Adampur?

Pakistan claims its air force (PAF) has destroyed India's high-value Russian-made S-400 air defense system (ADS) located at the Indian Air Force (IAF) Adampur air base. India has rejected this claim and posted pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing in front of its S-400 rocket launchers in Adampur. Meanwhile, there are reports that an Indian S-400 operator, named Rambabu Kumar Singh, was killed at about the time Pakistan claims to have hit it. Pakistan is believed to have targeted the S-400 systems using precision-guided CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles (max range 250 kilometers) launched from its JF-17 fighter aircraft.

How can an independent observer decipher the truth in the midst of these claims and counterclaims? To do that, one must first understand what constitutes the S-400 ADS. Is it just the rocket launchers? Or does it have other critical components like the radar and command-and-control systems? Could it be that the Pakistanis left the launchers alone and targeted and destroyed the radar and the command and control systems? Is that why the system operator was killed?

Russia's S-400 Air Defense System. Source: BBC

What is Russia's S-400 ADS?

The S-400 air defense system is designed to provide a layered defense with varying range capabilities. Its primary missiles, the 40N6, have a range of 400 kilometers (250 miles), while the 48N6E3 missiles offer a range of 250 kilometers (160 miles). The S-400 can also engage targets at shorter ranges using the 9M96E and 9M96E2 missiles, with ranges of 40 and 120 kilometers (25 and 75 miles), respectively. The S-400 consists of multiple components. Here's how it works.

1. Long-range surveillance radar tracks objects and relays information to the command vehicle, which assesses potential targets.

2. Target is identified and the command vehicle orders missile launch.

3. Launch data is sent to the best placed launch vehicle and it releases surface-to-air missiles.

4. Engagement radar helps guide missiles towards the target.

The entire system is rendered useless if any of these components are damaged or destroyed.

Death of an S-400 Operator:

Indian news outlet First Bihar reported the death of an Indian soldier operating the S-400 Air Defense System in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir at Adampur Airbase on May 10, 2025. This report was later deleted under pressure from the Indian government, in the same manner as The Hindu newspaper was forced to remove its story about the Indian Air Force's loss of French-made Rafale fighter jets in the aerial battle with the Pakistan Air Force.

India's NDTV Report:

Indian journalist Vishnu Som has confirmed in conversation with Shiv Aroor on NDTV that two near-hypersonic missiles fired from a JF-17 jet targeted Adampur Airbase. One of the missiles reportedly missed, while the outcome of the second is unclear. Aroor added that certain sensitive details about the incident could not be publicly disclosed.

If indeed Vishnu Som's confirmation is accurate, then the question arises as to how did a JF-17 armed with CM-400AKG hypersonic missiles (max range 250 kilometers) gain access to the S-400 system which has anti-access/area denial (A2AD) capabilities? The S-400's long range and ability to engage various aerial threats, including ballistic and cruise missiles, allows it to create a large area where enemy aircraft and missiles are denied access or freedom of operation.

Summary:

While there has been no official confirmation of the loss at Adampur, there is considerable circumstantial evidence to suggest that the Pakistan Air Force's fighter jets damaged a Russian-supplied S-400 ADS system operated by the Indian military. This is not the first time a Russian-made S-400 air defense system has been damaged or destroyed. Ukraine destroyed one in Crimea last year. Apparently the S-400 has known vulnerabilities that could have been exploited by both Ukraine and Pakistan.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Has Modi Succeeded Diplomatically or Militarily Against Pakistan After Pahalgam?

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Operation Sindoor to "punish" Pakistan after blaming it for the Pahalgam militant attack without offering any evidence. He then quickly proceeded to seek and accept a US-brokered ceasefire within 100 hours of launching military strikes on Pakistan. Now he claims that India has succeeded in its objectives for Operation Sindoor.

Let's examine Mr. Modi's claim of victory after seeking and accepting a ceasefire so soon after launching a large military operation. In terms of diplomacy, India clearly failed to prove its allegations against Pakistan to gain the support of the international community. Many of India's closest friends, including the US and Israel, condemned the Pahalgam attack but none held Pakistan responsible for it. At the same time, Pakistan's closest friends China and Turkey stood solidly with Pakistan.

Militarily, India incurred heavy losses, including the loss of its most advanced Rafale fighter jets in a major aerial battle with the Pakistan Air Force. In fact, Mr. Modi was stunned by the robustness of Pakistan's retaliatory precision strikes with high-speed missiles and drone swarms. He said: "Instead of supporting India's strike against terrorism, Pakistan started attacking India itself". He clearly wasn't expecting it when he ordered missile strikes against Pakistan.

As to Mr. Modi's other claims about India's Operation Sindoor's "successes" against Pakistan, here's a good summation of their reality as seen by a veteran Indian diplomat MK Bhadrakumar:

"The bottom line is, Pakistan has demonstrated its nuclear deterrent capability. It is as simple as that. If Operation Sindoor were to be repeated every now and then, it would only have the same results and be halted unceremoniously within 100 hours. Eventually, it will not only lose all novelty to our ecstatic TV audience, but a troubled nation may eventually start blaming an inept leadership. Pakistan is a major military power. Creating potholes in an odd runway or rendering a radar dysfunctional temporarily will not intimidate that country. Succinctly put, it must be far better for India to take help from Trump, who harbors no animus against us, to solve the problem and move on with life".

Friday, May 9, 2025

Pakistan Downs India's French Rafale Fighter Jets in History's Largest Aerial Battle

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pilots flying Chinese-made J10C fighter jets shot down at least two Indian Air Force's French-made Rafale jets in history's largest ever aerial battle involving over 100 combat aircraft on both sides, according to multiple media reports. India had 72 warplanes on the attack and Pakistan responded with 42 of its own, according to Pakistani military. The Indian government has not yet acknowledged its losses but senior French and US intelligence officials have confirmed that at least one Indian Rafale jet was shot down by Pakistan on May 7, 2025. Reports of more Rafale downings are being investigated by western intelligence officials. This marks the first time that the sophisticated French-made warplane has been lost in combat.

Rafale is the most advanced French 4.5 generation fighter plane. Indian Prime Minister Narendra spoke about India's need for Rafale back in 2019 after the last IAF-PAF dogfight and said: "We (Indians) acutely felt the absence of Rafale today.....if we had Rafale today the results would have been very different....desh ka bahut nuksaan hua hai" Then Mr. Modi proceeded to spend $7.4 billion to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France in the hope of achieving air superiority over Pakistan. Each Rafale cost Indian taxpayers $288 million.

Military aviation analysts conclude from the results of the air battle that the Chinese technology is as good, if not better than, the western technology. However, men count as much, if not more than, the machines. The legendary US Air Force pilot Chuck Yeager called Pakistan Air Force pilots "the best in the world". In another tweet in 2015, Yeager said "they (PAF pilots) kicked the Indians butt".

In the 1980s, the Pakistan Air Force pilots went head-to-head with Russian combat pilots in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has the distinction of being the only air force that has engaged and shot down multiple Russian fighter pilots in combat since WWII. The most prominent among those shot down by PAF was Colonel Alexander Rutskoy who ejected over Pakistani soil and was captured by Pakistan. After his release, Rutskoy was decorated as a hero of the Soviet Union and went onto become vice president of Russia under Boris Yeltsin, before leading an attempted coup in 1993, according to The National Interest publication.

The aerial battle between Pakistani and Indian fighter jets, which Pakistani officials claim downed five Indian planes, was one of the “largest and longest in recent aviation history,” a senior Pakistani security source told CNN. Over 100 combat planes battled for over an hour, with neither side leaving its own airspace, according to the CNN source who detailed that the missile exchanges were happening at distances sometimes greater than 160 kilometers (100 miles). The entire air battle was conducted using BVR (beyond visual range) radars/sensors with stand-off weapons.

Global militaries and defense analysts are now studying the India-Pakistan aerial battle on May 7, 2025, according to Reuters. Here's an excerpt of the Reuters' report:

"Experts said the live use of advanced weapons would be analyzed across the world, including in China and the United States which are both preparing for a potential conflict over Taiwan or in the wider Indo-Pacific region. One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets".

Here's Prime Minister Modi Speaking of India's Acute Need For Rafale in 2016:

https://youtu.be/QIt0EAAr3PU?si=KpcJW60jvD9r0xeQ

Monday, April 28, 2025

Pahalgam Attack: Why is the Indian Media Not Asking Hard Questions?

A recent terrorist attack on April 22 in Kashmir has killed 26 Indian tourists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu Nationalist government took no time to blame Pakistan for the attack and vowed to "punish" the neighbor for it. Indian media, also derisively known as "Godi media", immediately went into overdrive to demand action against Pakistan. New Delhi followed up with suspending the Indus Basin Water treaty from the 1960s which guarantees 80% of the water from the three western rivers (Chenab, Jhelum and Indus rivers) to Pakistan, while India gets the exclusive use of the water from three eastern rivers (Beas, Ravi and Sutlej rivers). India also ordered Pakistani visitors to leave the country and reduced Pakistani diplomatic staff posted in India. Pakistan responded by suspending Simla Agreement and banning overflights of Indian civilian and military aircraft through its airspace. Pakistan warned India that any attempt to block its share of water from the three western rivers will be an "act of war", adding that it was prepared to respond, “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country, as is India. Pakistan's nuclear doctrine calls for the use of nuclear weapons if its national existence is threatened by any country.

Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati

The Indian mainstream media has amplified the Modi government's propaganda and abandoned its role of asking the hard questions to get at the truth. Among the few who have raised serious doubts about Delhi's narrative is a Hindu religious leader named Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. In a viral video, the holy man has asked the following questions:

1. Shouldn't our "chowkidar" (Modi has called himself chowkidar in the past) be held accountable for any attacks on our home?

2. How did the attackers manage to come in, carry out the attack without any resistance and safely escape?

3. How did you so quickly determine that the attackers came from Pakistan? And if you are so good at reaching this conclusion so quickly, why were you unable to stop the attack in the first place.

4. Can India really cut off water flow instantly to Pakistan to "punish" it? Experts say it will take at least 20 years if India allocated unlimited funds to make it happen as fast as possible. It will require building dams, water reservoirs and canals to divert the water from Pakistan.

Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi sees the hand of "Indian deep state" at work in Pahalgam, carried out while the US Vice President JD Vance in India. Sethi recalls what former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wrote in her memoirs titled "Mighty Almighty" about the killing of 35 Sikh villagers in Kashmir that India blamed on Pakistan during US President Bill Clinton's India visit in March, 2000. She said Clinton suspected the hand of Hindu extremists in the Chittisinghpura incident. She quoted him saying that if he hadn’t made the trip, the victims would have still been alive.

Among the Indian journalists, only Bharat Bhushan has raised some questions about his country's government narrative. He thinks India violated the back-channel agreement between Modi's NSA Ajit Doval and Pakistan's then NSA Moeed Yusuf reached after 2019 to spare the civilians on both sides in any proxy attacks. Bhushan points out a warning from Lt General Ahmad Sharif that “the (Jaafar Express) train attack (in Balochistan) has changed the rule of the game”.

Bhushan's op ed mentions Modi's muscular policy toward people he sees as "terrorists". Canada, Pakistan and the United States have all accused the Indian government of a campaign of international assassinations. He writes: "Another development has been the targeted killings of terrorists and militants — both Kashmir and Sikhs, that Pakistan alleges have been initiated by Indian intelligence agencies after the Pulwama terrorist strike in 2019 when 40 paramilitary personnel were killed. India was allegedly inspired to undertake extra-judicial killings on foreign soil, from the example of Russia’s KGB, Israel’s Mossad, and the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia".

Bhushan concludes his Op Ed in Deccan Herald as follows: "How will India react now to what it believes to be Pakistan-sponsored terrorism? The bravado about punishing every terrorist act with greater-than-expected force is not going to be easy to put in action. Geopolitical circumstances have changed since 2019. Public sentiment cannot be the sole basis of military strikes. Thankfully, no crucial election is in the offing where assuaging public emotions becomes an issue. India will also have to provide proof to the world that Pakistan was indeed involved. This would require the arrest and questioning of the terrorists involved. That may take time. Only the tacit approval of the US can ensure that a strike against Pakistan does not spin out of control".

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PakAlumni Social Network

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Earth Day: Pakistan's Progress Toward Low-Carbon Economy

Pakistan celebrates Earth Day on April 22 every year by organizing various events sponsored by the government and non-government organizations to raise awareness of the issues faced by the earth. Today it is being observed with a range of initiatives, including pledges for zero waste, commitments to sustainable practices, and community-based actions to protect the planet. Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global carbon emissions, but it is among the countries considered most vulnerable to climate change. About a third of the country was devastated by massive floods in 2022. The nation committed continued pursuit of nature-based solutions to the problem at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. As part of this commitment, the country is planting one of the world's largest mangrove forests in the Indus River Delta, a key component of its Ten Billion Tree Tsunami campaign launched by former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The area where Pakistan is making substantial progress is in moving toward a low-carbon economy.

Earth Day in Pakistan

Pakistan Nuclear Power Generation Growth

"Our Power, Our Planet" theme focuses on a low-carbon economy with growth in clean electricity generation and the use of electric vehicles in Pakistan. In 2024, the hydropower contributed 10,681MW to the national grid, accounting for 25.4% of total capacity and generating 29,167GWh, representing 31.7% of total electricity generation. With nuclear power generation capacity of 3,262 megawatts, Pakistan increased the share of electricity generated from nuclear power plants to a record 17.4% in 2023 from 16.2% in 2022. Pakistan’s on-grid, net-metered solar capacity reached about 4,100 MW by December 2024.

Pakistan Solar Adoption Rate Faster Than India and China. Source: Ember via Reuters

Meanwhile, Pakistan is in the midst of a solar power boom. It has joined the ranks of the world’s leading solar markets, importing 17 gigawatts of solar panels last year alone, according to the Global Electricity Review 2025 by Ember, an energy think tank in the UK. “Rooftop solar is fast becoming the preferred energy provider,” says Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, program director at Renewables First in Pakistan. “And the role of the grid has to massively adapt in order to remain relevant in a fast-transitioning energy economy.”

Pakistan's Soaring Solar Panel Imports. Source: Ember via CNN

A number of auto companies have announced plans to manufacture electric vehicles. Pakistani automobile joint ventures with Chinese automakers BYD and Changan have recently launched several all-electric and plug-in hybrid models of automobiles in Pakistan. Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Limited has announced plans to build a hybrid electric vehicles plant in the country. Other major brands like Toyota, Haval, and Hyundai are already offering similar models in the country. It all began with the 2019 electric vehicle policy approved by the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to incentivize the electrification of the auto industry. Pakistan EV policy goal is to achieve 30% of new cars sales, 50% of new 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler sales and 30% of new truck sales by 2030. By 2040, the target is 90% of all new vehicle sales to be electric. The main incentive is the reduction of sales tax from 17% for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to 1% for all-electric (EV) vehicles.

Pakistan is currently experiencing a huge economic drain in terms of fossil fuel imports. In the first two months of the current fiscal year, Pakistan's oil import bill increased by 23% compared to the same period in 2023. Paying for huge amounts of imported coal, gas, and oil in US dollars has become disastrous, particularly after 40% depreciation of Pakistani currency over the last two years. Switching to cheap renewable sources will have a salutary effect on the country's climate and economy. It will help grow the nation's exports by increasing its exporters' competitiveness. It will also make it easier to manage inflation and reduce the need for recurring IMF bailouts.

The GenAI revolution is another factor that will dramatically increase global power demand. Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs forecasts that the new high-performance AI data centers alone will grow electricity demand by 160% by 2030. Pakistan needs to prepare for it if it wants to be competitive in this brave new world of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI).

RAAST: Pakistan's Instant Payment System

Pakistan's Large and Growing Civil Nuclear Program

Is Pakistan Ready For the AI Revolution?

Renewable Energy: Clean Electrification of Pakistan's Economy

STEM Enrollment in Pakistan Exceeds One Million

Digital Public Infrastructure in Pakistan

Solar Power Boom in Pakistan

Pakistan at 75

Growing Presence of Pakistani Women in Science and Technology

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PakAlumni Social Network

Saturday, April 19, 2025

International Schools: Pakistan Ranks Among Top 5 Countries in the World

Pakistan ranks among the top 5 nations in terms of international schools offering schooling based on International Baccalaureate (IB) and IGCSE (Cambridge) curricula. China leads with 1,000 international schools, followed by India (900), UAE (784), Pakistan (598) and Brazil (415). The medium of instruction in these schools is English.

Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan

The international schools in India and Pakistan date back to the days of the British Raj when these schools were established to serve the children of the British and the British-Indian civil servants. Later, these schools also attracted the children of diplomats and expats as well as Indian and Pakistani elites. Today, the vast majority of students attending these schools are the children of rich Indians and Pakistanis.

Karachi Grammar School, Karachi, Pakistan

The international schools favored by Pakistani elites include Aitchison College, Karachi Grammar School, Lahore Grammar School and the American International Schools located in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The tuition at the most expensive international schools in Pakistan runs from $12,000 to $15,000 a year. Beaconhouse schools in Pakistan cost less than these select schools. The graduates of international schools often attend elite universities in the UK and the United States, in addition to top Pakistani private universities like LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) in Lahore and the Aga Khan University in Karachi.

The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

Former finance minister Dr. Miftah Ismail, a member of Karachi's rich business elite, attended Karachi Grammar School and went on to earn a PhD from UPenn's Wharton School of Business. In an article in Dawn newspaper titled "The One Percent Republic", he wrote about elitism in education as follows:

"There are around 400,000 schools in Pakistan. Yet in some years half of our Supreme Court judges and members of the federal cabinet come from just one school: Aitchison College in Lahore. Karachi Grammar School provides an inordinate number of our top professionals and richest businessmen. If we add the three American schools, Cadet College Hasanabdal (alma mater of military top brass) and a few expensive private schools, maybe graduating 10,000 kids in total, we can be sure that these few kids will be at the top of most fields in Pakistan in the future, just as their fathers are at the very top today..... Pakistan’s economy thus only relies on whatever a small elite can achieve. It remains underdeveloped as it ignores the talent of most in the country."

Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan attended Aitchison College, an elite school established in Lahore by South Asia's colonial rulers to produce faithful civil servants during the British Raj. He then went on to graduate from Oxford University in England. Here's an excerpt of what he wrote in an article published by the Arab News on January 14, 2002:

"My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan. Despite gaining independence, they were, and still are, producing replicas of public schoolboys rather than Pakistanis. I read Shakespeare, which was fine, but no Allama Iqbal — the national poet of Pakistan. The class on Islamic studies was not taken seriously, and when I left school I was considered among the elite of the country because I could speak English and wore Western clothes. Despite periodically shouting ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ in school functions, I considered my own culture backward and religion outdated. Among our group if any one talked about religion, prayed or kept a beard he was immediately branded a Mullah. Because of the power of the Western media, our heroes were Western movie stars or pop stars. When I went to Oxford already burdened with this hang up, things didn’t get any easier. At Oxford, not just Islam, but all religions were considered anachronism."