Foreign Policy Blogs

Asia & Pacific

Interesting Exchange

Pakistan’s internal disputes are serious, but rarely do outsiders notice anything. Here is an example. Below, you’d find an article written by a gentleman in Northern Virginia. One of his readers responded favorably, but another reader reacted sharply, and this response should help the readers understand the simmering tensing inside Pakistan. I have removed the […]

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Pakistan's victory in T 20

Pakistan won the T20 tournament in England defeating Sri Lanka in the finals. Congrats to the team and to the nation as this was no small victory. It was a very tough tournament and Pakistan’s team proved to be the very best in the end. As always, the team started slowly, lost couple of matches […]

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T twenty win & Obama's interview!

Good news – Pakistan won the T twenty tournament by defeating Sri Lanka in the final last night in England. Wow, what a match, and what a tournament for Pakistan. The country needed something big, something spectacular, and this victory did just that. It indeed boosted Pakistan’s moral and it is going to bring the […]

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Defending "Buy Chinese"; Higher China Growth Forecast

Beijing defending “Buy Chinese” Policy Qin Gang, spokesman of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, defended Beijing’s government purchase policies. In early June, China’s National Development and Reform Commission, together with a number of other ministries, issued a notice requiring government bodies to source domestically for projects financed by the state. According to Mr. Qin, the […]

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Karachi without electricity

Citizens of Karachi have been without electricity for 22 hours! Yes, 22 hours in this excruciating heat. Electricity went out without any plausible reason and there was no answer or definitive time frame about electricity restoration from the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation. So, people were left with no option but to curse the government and […]

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China’s Emissions Targets: a (Non)Reductionist Approach

The past week of events – from a U.S. Senate hearing, to remarks by China’s State Council, to high-level talks in Beijing – have scattered a layer of rich soil from which robust US-China cooperation on climate change might spring forth. However, that soil is not uniform in content. The issue of quantifiable emissions reductions, […]

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Lack of Leadership

It is often said that Pakistan is on collision course with reality and sooner or later, it is going to get very tough for Islamabad to continue like this; no money, no income, terrorism across the country, politicians fighting with each others, people angry with their government, consumer unhappy because of unbelievably high inflation, business […]

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Pakistan's papers today

Military resolve to crush militancy Qureshi warns of Taliban moving into India, Gulf Taliban may open new front, fears Sherpao Mehsuds hedge bets as game on to isolate Baitullah Anti-terrorism force ‘Decisive offensive’ ordered against Baitullah Mehsud Southern Punjab’s troubles Extremists buying children to use as bombers: Malik PML-Q issues white paper against Punjab govt

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Wake Up

No need to repeat what is going on in Pakistan. It is a country that is going through its most difficult time since freedom. And regretfully, there is no end in sight as for Pakistan’s troubles are concerned. Economy is terrible, law & order is deteriorating, shortage of water, electricity and other necessities are clearly […]

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No Confidence in Rapid Chinese Recovery; FDI in China Continues Down Trend

No rapid recovery for China? Chinese economists and high level officials expressed their doubts about a swift Chinese recovery. Li Yang, a former adviser to the People’s Bank of China, sees the biggest challenge for China in finding a new growth engine to replace the struggling export sector. In this point Mr. Li is supported […]

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Budget is here!!!!

Well, the budget is finally here. I purposefully avoided listening to the budget speech because I know that there is nothing for ordinary people in Pakistan in this budget. In fact, there has never been any relief for ordinary people in any budget in Pakistan’s history, except of course empty promises and useless rhetoric. So, […]

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Strike in Pakistan

One of the leading anti Taliban cleric was the target of suicide bombing yesterday and today, there is a general strike in the country. Karachi, the biggest and the most important business hub of Pakistan is completely closed today. Punjab is also closed because the government has announced that today is a holiday due to […]

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Peshawar Bombing

Pakistan is awful awful awful. The bombing at PC Peshawar was a reminder, yet again, that Pakistan is actually the front line in the global struggle against the nihilist movement. Those who accuse Pakistan of not doing ‘enough’ must realize that Pakistan has done more then any other country in the world and as a […]

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China's Smart Grid Ambitions Could Open Door to US-China Cooperation

China's Smart Grid Ambitions Could Open Door to US-China Cooperation

China’s largest electric transmission company has announced an ambitious plan to develop a national smart grid by 2020 that would help utilities and their customers transport and use energy more efficiently. The sheer size of the project raises some intriguing questions. First, about whether China has the capital and technology for such an extensive upgrade. […]

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Foreign Hand

Those who always want to read positive or even glowing analysis about Pakistan must stop here because what follows is not pretty. For me, it is hard to differentiate between hell and Pakistan because things in Pakistan are that bad. The best way to describe Pakistan is to explain that the country is a place […]

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