Sabena Siddiqi

Set to determine a new direction after several happening weeks, the Pakistani elections are just round the corner. Around a 100 million voters will be participating in the polls on July 25th, with the largest province of Punjab taking on its ubiquitous role of the “king-maker” as it has the largest electorate. Rural areas and villages gain more prominence as they account for 60 percent of the total electorate. Gaining a “simple majority” in the National Assembly requires at least 172 seats, whichever party provides this representation will elect its prime minister. Leaving aside smaller parties, the three main contenders and their respective parties are Shahbaz Sharif, ex-chief minister of Punjab from the Pakistan Muslim League (N), Imran Khan leading the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his Pakistan People’s Party. ALSO READ:  From jail, Pakistan’s ex-PM Sharif appeals his sentence Following a prolonged corruption scandal beginning with being na...

Having successfully implemented the novel concept of an open market as a vital part of the socialist economy, China has not looked back since Deng Xiaopeng's reforms in 1978 which worked on an 'open door policy' and set the nation in a new direction.  de  Sabena Siddiqi EXCLUSIV Combining market reforms with government programs, the aim was to achieve sustainability rather than profit, the results were even better than the Chinese had imagined and unprecedented economic growth was achieved. In particular, China has been commended for lifting 55.64 million people out of poverty and reducing the global poverty rate to 10.7% in 2013 from 40% in 1981. Ostensibly, it is just a matter of time before China becomes the world's largest consumer market so it has to open up further to assure greater global integration. In fact, this is now a strategic choice according to various experts so it has moved into the next phase of its growth model. Focusing more on hig...

With the seventh largest oil and gas reserves in the world, the United Arab Emirates is strategically located in the vicinity of Asia and Africa's major oil consuming nations. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, China requires energy security to maintain a higher than 6 percent annual GDP growth rate.  China's domestic consumption equals nearly one fourth of global primary energy, and has invested in energy supplies from the Middle East as the preferred option. In turn, linking up with China has opened new doors for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries who are seeing the Belt and Road Initiative as a bridge to market its commodities.  Touring the UAE on a state visit soon, President Xi Jinping is being awaited with great excitement by his hosts and it is being billed as the beginning of a new era. Coinciding with President Xi's visit, the 27 years of China-UAE relations are to be celebrated all across the UAE from July 19-21. Chinese culture ...

Rebranding modern China today, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a focal part of Chinese foreign policy as well as the basis of its domestic economic strategy. Titled “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, the official document signifies the “opening up” of China to the world. China has not looked back since the successful implementation of Deng Xiaopeng’s reforms in 1978 and it wants to share its expertise and experience with the world by executing an open economic venture for all. Unfortunately, the Belt and Road Initiative has been received with suspicion on the whole by the Western bloc and its allies. In the beginning, it was considered an alternative to the ASEAN grouping in the region but as time passed it became more large-scale and experts started linking up BRI with the “String of Pearls” theory. Coined by defense contractor  Booz Allen Hamilton  in his research study in 2005, this term descri...

nleashing a legal and ethical debate worldwide, AI (artificial intelligence) is progressing with leaps and bounds as it portends to change human society forever. For example, if a driverless car meets with an accident involving fatalities, it is the algorithm operator who faces “product liability” rules. In the case of AI used in conventional war, machines killing humans is an ethically chilling concept. Carrying major implications, it is feared that the proto-AI technologies of today are going to evolve into true AI super-intelligence very rapidly without giving enough time for research into the pros and cons. As apprehensions of a “hyper-war scenario” build up, the main challenge remains: how to place the human factor in AI and prevent a drastic downgrade in military security as combat involving the technology changes the dimensions of warfare. Every country today needs to re-evaluate its defense mechanisms and reinterpret its geostrategic defenses to fit in with the modern use o...