Frank F Islam

On September 12, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban met in Doha to start the Afghan Peace Process negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo referred to these negotiations as a “truly momentous breakthrough.” Max Boot, an expert for the Council of Foreign Relations disagreed. He advises “…no one should expect a breakthrough […]

A recently published Congressional Research Service report on the ‘Global Economic Effects of Covid-19 states:”Estimatesso far indicate the virus could trim global economic growth by 3.0% to 6.0% in 2020, with a partial recovery in 2021, assuming there is not a second wave of infections,” The report warns ofheavy human costs in terms of ‘lives […]

On June 22, President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the entry of a number of non-immigrant work visa holders into the US till the end of the year. The visa categories affected by the executive order include, most notably, H-1B, which has been used by more than a million Indian IT professionals and […]

On May 25, there was a 9-minute incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sparked protests in hundreds of locations across the USA and in numerous cities around the world. That incident was the killing of a black man, George Floyd, by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with three other officers in attendance. Chauvin killed 46-year old […]

In times of crises such as flooding, hurricanes, and earthquakes, there is a substantial need for philanthropic assistance. Because of the unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic – which as of this moment has already resulted in more than 4 million confirmed cases and nearly 300,000 deaths world-wide, there is need for this […]

The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the news in Pakistan and the United States in the month of April. During that same time period, it became clear that Joe Biden would be the Democratic candidate to challenge President Donald Trump who is running for re-election as the Republican candidate. What would Biden’s being President as opposed to […]

At this point in time, on March 25, the only thing that can be said with any certainty regarding the Coronavirus pandemic is there is no certainty about how and when it will end or what its exact impact will be for Pakistan, other nations and the world. There are observations, however, that can be […]

On Saturday, February 29, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement between the two entities in Afghanistan. This agreement presents the potential opportunity to end the longest war in U.S. history. There is much uncertainty, however, as to whether it will be consummated. There is no uncertainty, on the other hand, that […]

The 2019 Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks 180 countries based on “perceived levels of public sector corruption” released last week revealed that “a majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.” Pakistan falls into this category. It received a CPI score of 32 in 2019 and a ranking […]

In January 2020, India, the US, and the world, need more peace, love and healing. We need a renewal and a reawakening of our better angels. Those of us who understand this must hear the voices of King and Gandhi and step forward to “walk in the light” and to “be the change”. Martin Luther […]