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November 23, 2010

MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIAN NATION

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ALI SUKHANVER

“Go India! Go back! We want freedom!” the charismatically enchanting valley of    Srinagar was resonating with the ear-piercing slogans raised by the hundreds of protesters who had gathered there after the Eid prayers. The Indian security forces started firing shots in the air and used teargas to disperse the violent crowd but all in vain. The protesters transformed into a procession and proceeded towards the main city and ultimately started hurling stones at the police. So many injured, so many arrested .That is how the people of Indian held Kashmir celebrated their one of the most sacred religious festivals The Eid-ul-Azha on 17th of November 2010. The most pathetic event of the day was that the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were disallowed to lead Eid-ul-Azha prayers. These leaders condemned the action of the Indian government as a ‘blatant infringement of people’s religious rights’. The International Herald Tribune reports, ‘Authorities deployed thousands of troops in Srinagar to prevent a repeat of massive protests that hit the city two months ago on Eid-ul- Fitr.The commercial Lal Chowk area, where protesters hoisted Islamic and Pakistani flags during the last holiday, was sealed with barbed wire.’Read More »MORAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIAN NATION

Pakistan: a forgotten economy

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Dr Ashfaque H Khan

Until 2007, Pakistan was regarded as one of the four fastest growing economies in Asia, the others being China, India and Vietnam. Goldman Sachs, an international investment bank, included Pakistan, along with Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam, in the club of the “Next Eleven” (N-11), on the basis of their potentials to emerge as major economic powers.
But in just three years, the Pakistani economy has ceased to be of interest to international forums.
At the recently concluded G20 Summit in Seoul, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific set up an experts’ group to present the Asia-Pacific perspective on the current global economic challenges,. I was one of the members of the group assigned the responsibility to prepare the views of the Asia-Pacific region. The group discussed the economies of countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Pakistan’s economy never made it to this particular discussion agenda. Read More »Pakistan: a forgotten economy