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

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Growing Fan Base of Cockroach Janata Party in India

"Indians live like cockroaches and die like cockroaches", argued Jayant Bhandari in an X post in April this year. "They vote for bottom of the barrel cockroaches as rulers, who rightly treat them as cockroaches", he added, faulting the people of India for this state of affairs. More recently, Indian Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant said during a hearing that certain unemployed youth were "like cockroaches" who enter professions with fake degrees or become social media and RTI activists attacking the system. Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Indian graduate of the public relations program at Boston University, picked up on it. He posted on X on May 16: “What if all cockroaches came together?” Dipke created a political party, named it Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a parody of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), and established a website that quickly gained tens of millions of followers, according to the New York Times.

Cockroach Janata Party Logo. Source: CJP Website

Dipke embraced “cockroach” in the party’s name to reinforce the fact that the insect, which arouses visceral disgust in many people, is also nearly indestructible. “What was thrown at them as an insult, now they are carrying it with pride,” he said.

The group of Indians described by the Indian Chief Justice as "cockroaches" is made up of over 100 million young people aged 15-29 years who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) as estimated by the World Bank. They make up the world's largest NEET population in any country. Such massive numbers threaten the country’s demographic dividend, risking long-term economic stagnation, widening gender disparities, and severe social instability. They represent a massive reservoir of untapped human potential that drains productivity.

As a result of failed policies and lack of opportunities at home, India is driving its best and brightest to the West, particularly to the United States, at an increasingly rapid pace. A 2023 study of the 1,000 top scorers in the 2010 entrance exams to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) — a network of prestigious institutions of higher learning based in 23 Indian cities — revealed the scale of the problem. Around 36% migrated abroad, and of the top 100 scorers, 62% left the country, according to a report in the science journal Nature. Nearly two-thirds of those leaving India are highly educated, having received academic or vocational training. This is the highest for any country, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Over a Million Pakistani University Students Enrolled in STEM Fields

The Great Indian Brain Drain

Pakistani-Americans in Academia

Top One Percent: Are Hindus the New Jews in America?

India in Crisis: Unemployment, Hunger, Unhappiness

Pakistan Scientific Output is World's Fastest Growing

India's Chandrayaan 3 Success: Can Pakistanis Explore Space?

Digital Pakistan 2022

Pakistan's Large and Growing Civil Nuclear Program

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Monday, May 25, 2026

Iron Brothers China and Pakistan Celebrate 75 Years of "Unbreakable" Friendship

President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have met today in Beijing to reaffirm the "unbreakable" bond between their two "iron brother" countries on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Pakistan diplomatic ties. "No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will always place priority on the development of China-Pakistan relations in its diplomacy with neighboring countries," he said. Over 7 decades of friendship witnessed Pakistan help bring about the US-China rapprochement that has enabled the Asian giant to grow from international isolation to what President Donald Trump recently declared part of "G2", the exclusive group of two real superpowers in the world today. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's three-day visit to China has seen the signing of multiple agreements to further strengthened strategic and economic relations between two Asian neighbors. These deals are aimed at developing Pakistan's digital economy and renewable energy sectors.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (L) with President Xi Jinping

Digital Economy:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif began his 3-day official visit to China with the city of Hangzhou where he was warmly welcomed by Chinese officials. He led a business-to-business (B2B) investment conference with private business leaders from China and Pakistan. Hangzhou is known for its huge digital economy, e-commerce dominance, and an aggressive push into "future technologies" like embodied AI, robotics, and drones. It is home to the Chinese tech giant Alibaba.

Prime Minister Sharif visited Alibaba’s headquarters where he forged a comprehensive strategic agreement with the tech giant's Chairman Tsai "right now" to accelerate Pakistan's digital economy. The deal covers AI infrastructure, cloud computing, digital payments and e-commerce.

Renewable Energy:

Prime Minister Sharif also received CATL Executive Vice President Oscar Lou in Hangzhou. CATL is a leading manufacturer of advanced batteries used for energy storage and electric vehicles. Sharif invited CATL and other renewable energy equipment makers to invest in Pakistan to respond to the growing needs of the country.

In a meeting with Sheng Huo Neng Yuan Ke Ji Company CEO Agnes Siu, discussions focused on cooperation in the renewable energy sector, particularly solar power. The prime minister highlighted Pakistan’s growing renewable energy market and government measures aimed at facilitating investment in the sector. He also met with Danwei Shao, the Chairwoman of Starcharge Group, to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure and smart mobility systems in Pakistan.

Sharif argued that the industries where China was no longer competitive because of expensive labor could come to Pakistan, bring in plant and machinery, enter into joint ventures with Pakistani entrepreneurs, manufacture goods, and export to third countries.

Other Industries:

Sharif pitched for Chinese investments and cooperation in other key sectors, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textiles and mining.

President Xin Yuan of Xiuzheng Pharmaceuticals called on the prime minister and discussed pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare cooperation and investment opportunities in Pakistan’s growing medical sector.

Sharif promoted a number of special economic zones (SEZs) created by the Pakistan government, Specifically, he mentioned a special economic zone in Karachi spread over more than 6,000 acres of land, where all basic amenities would be provided so that Chinese investors and Pakistani entrepreneurs together could invest there.

Beijing Visit:

Prime Minister Sharif and his team flew from Hangzhou to Beijing to meet with the top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

President Xi told the visitors that China firmly supports Pakistan in safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. "No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will always place priority on the development of China-Pakistan relations in its diplomacy with neighboring countries," he said.

Foreign Minister Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, held a meeting with Pakistan's Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Syed Asim Munir. No matter how the international and regional situation changes, the friendship between China and Pakistan has always been as solid as a rock and unbreakable, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said to him on Monday.

Joint Statement:

At the conclusion of Prime Minister Sharif's China visit, a joint China-Pakistan statement said the two nations have reached a “new broad consensus” ⁠on deepening strategic ⁠ties to bolster the development of a joint economic corridor and establish the port of Gwadar as a regional connectivity hub. “The two sides engaged cordially and reached a new broad consensus on further deepening the China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership,” the statement said.

Monday, May 18, 2026

Pakistani-American Franchisee Joins Bid to Acquire Papa John's Pizza

A Pakistan-American franchisee has joined a Qatari-backed investor group's bid to buy out the US-based Papa John's Pizza restaurants chain. Nadeem Bajwa started his part-time job in 1991 as a pizza delivery driver for Papa John's while attending college in Indiana. He has since risen to become the largest franchisee with nearly 300 restaurants across the United States. Bajwa's backing could help Irth, which is also backed by Brookfield Asset Management, in its $47 a share pursuit of the pizza chain. Papa John's has been reviewing Irth's offer, though sources told Reuters there is no guarantee a deal gets done.

Papa John's Largest Franchisee Nadeem Bajwa

Bajwa’s journey wasn’t easy. In his early twenties, he was the first in his family to move to the United States, where he encountered many challenges upon arrival. “Coming to the U.S., actually, that was my first flight [ever.] I’d never flown before,” Bajwa told CNBC News. “Just getting into the plane, it was a full flight coming here by myself, [there was] a lot of anxiety ... but I was determined to make it.”

Back in 2020, Pakistani reporter Ahmad Noorani alleged that "(T)he growth of the Bajwa family’s business empire in the United States and later in Pakistan directly matches the rise in power of retired general Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is now chairman of the country’s massive China-financed infrastructure project and a special assistant to the prime minister". “Out of total 99 companies, 66 are main companies, 33 companies are branch companies of some of the main companies, while five companies are dead now,” Ahmad Noorani alleged, adding that the businesses of the Bajwa family have been put under the umbrella called Bajco Group.

Eager to allege corruption, Noorani obviously ignored many well-known Pakistani immigrant success stories in US restaurant franchise business while jumping to the conclusion that Nadeem Bajwa's success must be built on his brother's alleged corruption in Pakistan. Noorani does not offer any evidence to back up his allegations.

Bajwa's success as a fast food franchisee is not unique. Other Pakistani-American entrepreneurs own and operate some of the largest fast-food franchises in the United States, managing thousands of locations for major brands like Popeyes, Burger King, and Papa John's. Among the most prominent Pakistani-American franchisees is Shoukat Dhanani (Dhanani Group). Based in Sugar Land, Texas, the Dhanani family runs one of the largest private businesses in the U.S. They are the largest franchisees of Popeyes and a massive Burger King operator, building an empire that generates well over a billion dollars in revenue.

Tabassum Mumtaz, an NED University alumnus, is a another successful Pakistani-American fast-food franchisees. He began his career as a cook for Long John Silver’s, eventually rising to own the entire chain and becoming a mega-franchisee of A&W, KFC, and Taco Bell under Ampex Brands, running a restaurant portfolio generating over a billion dollars in annual revenue.

PakAlumni Social Network

Monday, May 11, 2026

Is the India Growth Story Over?

In a television speech to the nation, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his people to make sacrifices by spending less on fuel, fertilizer, and travel. He also asked them not to buy gold for a year. “To save foreign exchange, we must accept the challenge of patriotism,” he said. It appears that India's problems do not just stem from the effects of the US-Iran war; India's problems started well before that. Flight of foreign capital has put the Indian currency under tremendous pressure, with the Indian rupee falling nearly 10% in recent months. Many analysts believe that the Indian IT services exports could fall significantly as the artificial intelligence (AI) models begin to replace the IT workers. It could create a balance of payments crisis that could force India to seek the IMF bailout in the not too distant future. Already, the Indian economy has slipped to the sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP, dropping from previous projections that had it at fourth.

Indian Economy Drops From 4th to 6th Rank. Source: IndMoneyApp

Energy Crisis:

India is facing a serious energy crisis driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz that has disrupted global oil and gas supplies. While the government has assured citizens that there are no immediate shortages of petroleum or natural gas, the escalating costs of imports are putting extreme pressure on the nation's foreign exchange reserves.

AI Challenge:

Indian IT firms are cutting staff to prepare for the expected disruption from the adoption of AI. For example, the IT services firm Cognizant is planning major workforce reductions that could impact between 12,000 and 15,000 employees globally, with India expected to account for the majority of the cuts, according to a report.

A US-based investment research firm Citrini Research is forecasting a significant disruption to India's traditional IT services sector by 2027-2028, driven by the collapsing cost of AI coding agents. Here's an excerpt of the Citrini research report:

"The country’s IT services sector exported over $200 billion annually, the single largest contributor to India’s current account surplus and the offset that financed its persistent goods trade deficit. The entire model was built on one value proposition: Indian developers cost a fraction of their American counterparts. But the marginal cost of an AI coding agent had collapsed to, essentially, the cost of electricity. TCS, Infosys and Wipro saw contract cancellations accelerate through 2027. The rupee fell 18% against the dollar in four months as the services surplus that had anchored India’s external accounts evaporated. By Q1 2028, the IMF had begun “preliminary discussions” with New Delhi".

Stocks Selloff:

Sensing the growing crisis, Indian stock market investors are selling off their holdings. IN particular, foreign investors have accelerated their exit from Indian equities in early 2026, selling over $20 Billion in the first four months, driving 14-year low ownership levels. Triggered by Middle East conflicts, rising oil prices, and rupee depreciation, this record exodus—marking the worst quarterly selloff in March—was driven by outflows in banking, financial services, and IT.

Investors see the writing on the wall. The Indian economy has already dropped from the 4th to the 6th rank in the world. The Indian currency is under a lot of pressure. India's current account deficit will worsen with the loss of IT services exports.

Monday, May 4, 2026

Pakistan's New Infrastructure Investments and Trade Routes

Pakistan has recently launched 5G wireless service in multiple cities and closed financing on the 306 kilometer 6-lane Sukkur-Hyderabad M6 motorway. In addition, Pakistan is seeing significant increase in the utilization of its Gwadar and Karachi ports after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to the US-Iran war. This will help open the trade routes from Pakistan to Central Asia via Iran, bypassing unstable Afghanistan. It has the potential to eventually make Pakistan a major transshipment hub for the region extending to the land-locked Central Asian Republics. Another major news is the Asian Development Bank financing of cross-border connectivity of the power grid and digital networks. These developments are expected to substantially enhance economic activity in the country, in spite of the short-term negative impact of the energy crisis, particularly in oil and gas imports.

5G Launch:

Wireless carriers Jazz and Zong have launched 5G services across Pakistan in March 2026. This will further expand and enhance Pakistan's digital public infrastructure. Jazz launched its 5G service across major cities, including in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, and Faisalabad. Meanwhile, Jazz's competitor Zong is targeting over 16 cities with 5G speeds exceeding 1.4Gbps.

During the March auction, a total of 480 MHz of spectrum was sold across multiple bands for over $500 million, with Pakistan's main telcos, Jazz, Ufone, and Zong, snapping up the assets. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) put a total of 597 MHz of spectrum on the table, with just over 100 MHz of this going unsold.

M6 Motorway:

Pakistan has signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for $235 million in financing for two sections (120 miles) of the M6 motorway in Sindh province. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the OPEC Fund have already agreed to finance three other sections of this motorway.

The M-6 motorway is the only missing segment in the north-south motorway route linking Karachi to Peshawar. The 306-kilometer-long, six-lane motorway will have 15 interchanges and 10 service areas.

Cross-Border Grid Connectivity:

Pakistan is joining the Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative sponsored and financed by the Asian Development Bank which will provide $50 billion for power and $20 billion for digital infrastructure. The project will link grids, boost power trading, improve broadband and develop AI-ready communities across Asia, the Pacific.

Iran Trade Routes:

Pakistan has opened six land transit routes for goods destined for Iran, creating a road corridor through its territory as thousands of containers remain stranded at Karachi port because of the United States blockade of Iranian ports and ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

This development signals a major shift away from the Gulf trade infrastructure Iran had long relied upon, particularly through Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates. This represents an opportunity for Pakistan to create new trade routes to Central Asian Republics bypassing Afghanistan, eventually making Pakistani ports a major transshipment hub for the entire region.

Pakistan's newest Gwadar Port has already seen a major surge in activity, handling around 11,000 containers in April 2026 alone, surpassing its entire 2025 volume. The increase comes as shipping companies adjust routes due to disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz, pushing traffic toward safer alternatives.

Space Program:

Pakistan's space agency SUPARCO has achieved a major milestone by launching five indigenous satellites over the last 16 months (early 2025 – April 2026), marking a shift toward rapid space technology expansion. The fleet, aimed at Earth observation and agriculture, includes EO-1, EO-2, AI-powered EO-3, and Pakistan's first hyperspectral satellite, HS-1.

HS-1 is Pakistan's first hyper-spectral satellite which is equipped with advanced hyperspectral imaging sensors capable of capturing data across hundreds of narrow spectral bands. The satellite lifted off from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on a Kinetica-1 rocket. It is expected to boost Pakistan's national capacities in areas such as precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, urban planning, and disaster management. Its high-resolution data will support improved resource management and strengthen Pakistan’s resilience to climate-related challenges.

RAAST: Pakistan's Instant Payment System

Pakistan's Digital Public Infrastructure

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

Will Gwadar Become Pakistan's Shenzhen?

Pakistan's M5 Motorway

CAREC: More Landlocked Central Asian Republics Look to Use Pakistani Ports

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, April 27, 2026

A Personal Story: When My Heart Stopped in San Francisco

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 ICU for less than 24 hours. In these 24 hours, I sat up in a chair and had breakfast, then walked with the assistance of a walker before being transferred to a regular hospital room.

The reason I ended up getting CABG surgery has to do with the fact that I started experiencing shortness of breath during long walks and strenuous exercise. When I told my cardiologist Dr. Lucas Christianson about it, he ordered a perfusion stress test, also known as nuclear stress test. The results were abnormal, indicating two blocked coronary arteries.

I received good care from doctors, nurses and other staff in the regular hospital room. They made sure I was cared for and fed well. In addition to daily visits by Dr. Cain and other doctors, there were multiple daily visits by respiratory therapists (RT) and physiotherapists (PT) designed to ensure full restoration of my lung function and ability to walk on my own. Vital signs (temperature, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation level) checks every 3 hours and regular blood draws meant I could not sleep much. Pretty soon I was asking to be discharged so I could go home and catch up on my sleep. My doctors assured me it was their goal too but they wanted to make sure that the red blood cells and electrolytic balance were restored and my edema (excess water retention) reduced to nearly pre-surgery levels. In addition to visual checks of my feet, I was weighed everyday to ensure I was losing retained water from surgery.

I was discharged from the hospital on April 19, exactly 6 days after surgery. I was told that this is fairly normal. There was another CABG patient of Indian origin in the room next door. He was there for 10 days and stayed there when I was discharged. Apparently, the surgeon discovered he had deep vein thrombosis (DVT) during surgery that complicated his situation.

Dr Cain somehow learned that I am a Pakistani-American. He told me he mentioned it to a fellow cardiovascular surgeon named Dr. Ahmad Sheikh who confirmed to him my national origin. I personally do not know Dr. Sheikh but I am acquainted with his family. In fact, my wife and I were invited to attend his sister's wedding in Fremont, California.

Looking through the hospital window, the one thing that struck me was how many Waymo robotaxis were ferrying passengers through the streets of San Francisco. Waymo is owned by Google. Its cars are made by Jaguar. They are fitted with LIDARs (Light detection and ranging) which constantly scan the vehicle's surroundings to create 3D scanned images of all objects around it. In addition, there are multiple radars and cameras which provide inputs to a computer that operates the vehicle. My wife drove to the hospital but both of my daughters used Waymo robotaxis. They both felt comfortable riding in the back seat of a vehicle with no human driver.

Thursday, April 9, 2026

US-Iran Ceasefire: Pakistan Saves "A Whole Civilization"

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 moments in the long and complex history of the world", Trump added. The ultimatum to Iran sent shockwaves around the world because it is a fact that the president of the United States controls one of the largest stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The post came out at 8 AM US East Coast time when it was 8 PM in Islamabad. Immediately, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir stepped up their frantic efforts to save the world as Trump's deadline approached. The world heaved a sigh of relief when, about an hour before Trump's deadline, the US president acknowledged and positively responded to a Pakistani proposal to accept a two-week ceasefire which was also approved by the Iranian leadership. The oil price dropped and the stock markets rallied in the hope of a permanent end to hostilities.

President Trump's Post Accepting Ceasefire with Iran

After the ceasefire announcement two days ago, Pakistani leaders have organized a US-Iran meeting scheduled for Saturday in Islamabad. JD Vance, the Vice President of the United States is traveling to Pakistan to lead the US delegation for talks with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi.

Iran's 10-Point Proposal For Peace

Iran's 10-point proposal that Trump referred to in his post as the basis of US-Iran talks includes the following:

1. Guarantee that Iran will not be attacked again.

2. Permanent end to war, not just a ceasefire.

3. End to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.

4. Lifting of all US sanctions on Iran.

5. End to all regional fighting against Iranian allies.

6. Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz

7. Iran would impose a $2 million fee per ship transiting Hormuz.

8. Iran would split these fees with Oman.

9. Iran would establish rules for safe passage through Hormuz.

10. Iran would use Hormuz fees for reconstruction instead of reparations.

Europeans and Japanese Leaders Thank You Letter to Pakistan

These are high-stakes negotiations that could fail but just the fact that the two sides have agreed to talk gives the world some hope of a better outcome. Meanwhile, many world leaders have thanked the Pakistani leaders for stepping up at a crucial time. But many in Pakistan's neighboring country of India are very unhappy about Pakistan's role in it. For example, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has derided Pakistan as a "dalal" (pimp) country. He is clearly unhappy that his country's campaign to isolate Pakistan has backfired. In fact, Pakistan's geopolitical profile has particularly risen after the country's robust response to what the Indian Prime Minister called "Operation Sindoor" which he launched against Pakistan last year in May.

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Out of School Children: ASER Pakistan Reports Substantial Increase in Enrollment

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 latest ASER report contains a table showing that the 6 to 16 age group has around 66 million boys and girls. Based on these numbers, the out of school children's population is now 5.3 million. Of the total number of enrollees, 62% attend government schools and 27% are in private schools.

Number of Out-of-School Children 6-16 Years is 8% (5 million). Source: ASER Pakistan 2025

The number of out-of-school Pakistani preschoolers in the 3-5 years age group is 41%, according to the ASER Pakistan 2025 Report. It indicates that most Pakistani parents do not send their children to school before age 6.

Number of Out-of-School Children 3-5 Years is 41%. Source: ASER Pakistan 2025

Earlier, the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in December 2025 put the OOSC figure for children 5-16 years at 20 million. One important difference is the age bracket: ASER's figure of 5 million is for 6-16 years while the HIES figure of 20 million is for 5-16 years.

While the public spending on education remains low in Pakistan, the private sector spending is higher. Recent data indicates annual education expenditure exceeds Rs. 5 trillion ($18 billion), driven by roughly Rs. 2.8 trillion in household spending (private) and Rs. 2.23 trillion in government (public) funding, highlighting a major shift towards private financing.

The total (public+private) spending on education has been rising. In 2024-25 it was $18 billion in USD terms, twice the national defense budget of Pakistan. This appears to be driving higher school enrollment. In addition to increasing access, the key challenges for Pakistan include improving learning outcomes and reducing drop-out rates at higher grade levels.

Over a Million Pakistani University Students Enrolled in STEM Fields

Inspirational Story of University-Going Daughters of a Karachi Rickshaw Driver

Pakistan Survey Reveals Positive Trends in Health Sector

Pakistan's Total Education Spending Exceeds its Defense Budget

Inquiry-Based Learning in Pakistani Schools

Pakistan Scientific Output is World's Fastest Growing

How Grim is the Progress in Pakistan's Social Sector?

Pakistani Girl's Journey From Karachi Slum to Harvard

Pakistan's Large and Growing Civil Nuclear Program

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Over 1000 Pakistani Medical Grads Matched in US Residency Programs in 2026

Over 1000 Pakistani medical graduates have been matched in the 2026 NRMP (National Residency Matching Program), according to APPNA (The Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America). This 2026 program was the largest in history, offering 44,344 positions to 53,373 registered applicants, with over 93% of spots filled. Among Pakistani medical graduates matched, Karachi's Dow Medical University graduates led the pack with 132 matches, followed by 109 from Lahore's King Edwards Medical University and 60 from Karachi's Aga Khan Medical College.

Top Pakistani Medical Schools in US Residency Programs. Source: APPNA

Nearly 3,000 Indian medical graduates made up the largest group among international medical graduates matched in US residency programs this year. Pakistanis were second with over 1,000 matches. Over 9,000 International Medical Graduates (IMGs) (including both U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens) matched into U.S. residency positions, with non-U.S. IMGs seeing a 56.4% match rate.

Foreign Medical Residents at Parkview Hospital in Indiana. Source: Mary Bowden MD

This year, the presence of a large number of foreign doctors has become a political issue. In some programs, such as Parkview hospital in Indiana, 14 of 15 residents who matched in the internal medicine program are from foreign countries. 12 of them are from Pakistan. Another program at Baptist Hospital of Southern Texas, all 13 residents are foreign medical graduates. Of these 6 are from Pakistan.

Doctor Brain Drain. Source: Statista

Pakistani-American doctors make up the second largest population of foreign doctors in America. And they are quite successful. For example, Dr. Mansoor Mohiuddin, a 1989 graduate of Karachi's Dow Medical College, made global headlines when he implanted a pig heart in a patient at University of Maryland School of Medicine. Considered one of the world’s foremost experts on transplanting animal organs, known as xenotransplantation, Muhammad M. Mohiuddin, MD, Professor of Surgery at UMSOM, joined the UMSOM faculty five years ago and established the Cardiac Xenotransplantation Program with Dr. Griffith. Dr. Mohiuddin serves as the program’s Scientific/Program Director and Dr. Griffith as its Clinical Director.

Top Countries of Origin of Foreign Doctors in the US. Source: OECD

The pervasive presence of South Asian doctors in the United States is confirmed by OECD (Organization for Cooperation and Development) statistics on foreign doctors in OECD member nations. While India has remained the top source of foreign doctors since 2013, Pakistan has moved up from third to second spot in this period. As of 2016, there were 45,830 Indian doctors and 12,454 Pakistani doctors among 215,630 foreign doctors in the United States. India (45,830) and Pakistan (12,454) are followed by Grenada (10,789), Philippines (10,217), Dominica (9,974), Mexico (9,923), Canada (7,765), Dominican Republic (6,269), China (5,772), UAE (4,635) and Egypt (4,379).

In percentage terms, 21% of foreign doctors come from India, 6% from Pakistan, 5% each from Grenada, Philippines and Dominica and 4% from Mexico.

Pie Chart of Origins of Foreign Medical Graduates in US. Source: OECD

Many of these "foreign doctors" are US citizens, born and raised in the United States, who travel abroad to study at foreign medical schools. Their reasons vary from ease of admissions to lower costs. This is particularly true of the medical schools in the Caribbean nations.

Many Caribbean nations have established medical schools to especially cater to the demand from the United States. In 2007, Pakistan, too, set up Dow International Medical College as part of Dow University of Health Science (DUHS).

Indians and Pakistanis also make up the top two nationalities among 66,211 foreign doctors in the United Kingdom. There are 18,953 doctors from India, 8,026 from Pakistan, 4.880 from Nigeria and 4,471 from Egypt in the UK.

The list of 25,400 foreign doctors in Canada is topped by South Africans (2,604) followed by Indians (2,127), Irish (1,942), British (1,923), Americans (1,263) and Pakistanis (1,087).

There are 25,607 Pakistani medical school graduates currently working in all of the OECD member countries which are considered the rich industrialized nations. These Pakistani doctors account for 10.6% of 242,000 Pakistan-trained doctors practicing now. 74,455 Indian doctors working in OECD nations make up 7.3% of about 1,020,000 of all India-trained doctors in practice.

In spite of losing 10.6% of its doctors to "brain drain" compared to India's 7.3%, Pakistan still has more doctors per capita (1.1 per 1000 population) than India (0.7 doctors per 1000 population), according to the World Bank. Pakistani medical colleges admit 16,000 students a year compared to 92,000 in India.

As the populations age and demand for medical services grows in the West, more and more of it is being met by recruiting health care workers, including doctors and nurses, from the developing world.

Monday, March 23, 2026

Economist Magazine Editors: Propagandists For the Zionist Elite?

Right after October 7, 2023, Economist Magazine's Defense Editor Shashank Joshi posted X messages claiming that Hamas beheaded babies during the terrorist attack on Israelis. He has now deleted his posts. Instead of apologizing for joining the baseless Israeli propaganda campaign, Joshi has blamed it on "the fog of war", knowing fully well that this falsehood was used by the Israeli government to justify the Gaza genocide that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children. Here's what Joshi has now posted: "Some of these reports have turned out to be untrue, and yes, I was wrong to be as confident in what was reported as first-hand evidence as I was, particularly given the fog of war in those initial post Oct 7th days".

An X user Tom London dismissed Joshi's excuses as follows: . @shashj @TheEconomist

@zannymb when I heard the story that Hamas was said to have beheaded 40 babies I thought

1. This makes no sense at all. Where is the evidence?

2. This sounds like a fabrication to justify GENOCIDE

The Economist printing this is a journalistic crime of the gravest importance

Economist Magazine Cover Portraying Israel as Victim

Joshi's bias extends beyond the Middle East. Contrary to what most western reports, including the US Congressional report, concluded, Joshi claimed that India won a "military victory" over Pakistan in the 2025 clash that India dubbed "Operation Sindoor". He did concede, however, that Pakistan won a "diplomatic victory".

While the Joshi excuses and his denunciations are going viral, Tucker Carlson's podcast with Zanny Minton Beddoes, Joshi's boss at the Economist, has attracted attention in social media where she is challenged to explain the meaning of "Does Israel have a right to exist?", a well-known Israeli government's talking point to justify Israel's aggression against Palestinians and other nations in the Middle East. Here's the full exchange between the two on this subject:

MINTON BEDDOES: You are critical of the government of Israel. Do you believe in Israel’s right to exist? Would you consider yourself a Zionist in that narrow definition?

CARLSON: What does that mean, a right to exist?

MINTON BEDDOES: The existence of the political state of Israel.

CARLSON: But it has a right. What does that mean?

MINTON BEDDOES: That you think it should continue in its existence as a state right now. So you do not agree with Iran, for example.

CARLSON: Let me just ask, since you asked me the question, it’s fair for me to get you to define the term so I can answer it. You’ve asked two questions. The first was, do you believe Israel is a right to exist? And the second question was, do you believe Israel should continue to go on as a nation-state? And those are very different questions. So, I often hear the phrase–

MINTON BEDDOES: Having been created as a political entity in 1948–

CARLSON: Does it have a right to exist? Is that what you’re asking?

MINTON BEDDOES: I don’t want to get hung up on the right to– should it continue to exist. That’s what, that’s how I define narrowly–

CARLSON: Because the phrase you used was devised by the Israeli government, of course. Does it have a right to exist? And so my question to you would be, what does that mean?

MINTON BEDDOES: Why don’t you answer my question? It’s a very simple question.

CARLSON: I don’t know what your question is. Are you asking, does it have the right to exist or do I want it to exist? Do I seek its destruction?

MINTON BEDDOES: Fine. Answer it that way.

CARLSON: Well, of course I don’t seek its destruction. I’ve already said, as you know, because I said it to you, I don’t want Israel to be destroyed or have to use nuclear weapons.

Notwithstanding the Zionist propapaganda about the “right to exist” vis-à-vis Israel, it is not an international legal concept. Under international law, no state has a right to exist. On the other hand, the right of self-determination, which is the idea that all peoples have a right to determine their own fate by forming their own political entities, is a fundamental principle of international law. Israel is denying that basic right to the Palestinian people living under its military occupation.

British historian William Dalrymple has succinctly summed up The Economist magazine's troubles in his recent X post saying:

@TheEconomist has utterly destroyed its reputation with its deeply racist and profoundly bigoted coverage of the mass-murder of the people of Gaza. For six months we have seen issue after issue of scandalously one sided-coverage which has has made it complicit in the continued enslavement of the Palestinian people, the on-going seizure of their land, the systematic abuse of their human rights and the industrial slaughter of their innocent civilians in both Gaza and the West Bank. Shame on its senior editorial staff responsible for the travesty of inhumanity and bias. @zannymb

The Economist magazine is widely seen by critics as a tool of western imperialism. It has faced recent denunciation for a 2023 article labeling Latin American workers "unproductive" and "useless". During the Southern India famine of 1876-78, The Economist condemned British officials who imported food to feed starving people. The publication argued that providing such aid gave Indians the impression that "it is the duty of the Government to keep them alive".