8 responses so far ↓

• 1 aamir // Dec 8, 2007 at 3:43 pm

  Failed states = states that do not conform to the “standards” of the one judging them.

  This is good material for an SS-dubba course at LUMS! :P

• 2 aamir // Dec 8, 2007 at 3:49 pm

  It gives pakistan 5.8 on sharp economic decline :) that’s quite laughable, how many of us have class fellows doing good jobs, or relatives earning great salaries in telecom, banking and other sectors in Pakistan.

  Rise of factionalized elites - isn’t it the same in America, Germany, UK etc ?

  As for intervention of other states, pakistan is just 1.5 points below Afghanistan. GREAT!

• 3 friend // Dec 8, 2007 at 6:26 pm

  The actual numbers may not be correct, but the direction and gist is right. Pakistan is sliding back into economic crap hole, thanks to the dictator. Pakistan’s emergency status will ensure NO foreign company even thinks of coming to Pak for the next 10 years …so much for the middle class and its job seeking activities.

  Isnt it shameful for us as a nation when our nationals are invited to 3rd countries for interviews ie microsoft doesnt even want to come to pak for hiring but rather gets people to fly to dubai.

  Musharraf may not be a bad guy, but he’s made some really bad decisions when they mattered most. Now the only way out of the hell hole is for him to leave Pak for good. Amen!

• 4 asghar // Dec 8, 2007 at 8:39 pm

  Foreign companies will NOT shy away because of emergency. That’s the part of package of developing countries. Even Indonesia has had military coups, or for that matter Thailand, Pakistan is no different. Foreign investment will still be done and life will go on as usual.

  Microsoft doesn’t want to come to Pakistan for hiring, not because of security risks; but because Dubai is the center of their Middle eastern operations. So obviously their main staff is in Dubai; it’s better to fly an applicant to Dubai than the interviewer who has other things to do in a day apart from an interview - this is good business sense.

  Musharaf has made bad decisions but anyone in his shoes could do the same. His is the toughest job in the world right now, and credit should be given where it’s due.

  My vote would be for him and not for Nawaz or BB, even though I do not agree with a lot of his policies - I still don’t mind him being the leader of the country.

• 5 friend // Dec 9, 2007 at 1:18 pm

  Asghar,
  Come back to real life. Or maybe you’re still a teenage kid who hasnt experienced one.

  The REAL world reacts to political uncertainties. Today, ALL pakistani companies that directly interact with Western entities have had to explain the impact of the emergency. And all of us have sugar coated the issue ….eg, wouldnt impact us at all …Pakistan is going strong and politics is not what the majority of Pakistanis are concerned with.

  But the honest answer will become known one day, assuming our western contacts arent complete zombies. That being that political uncertainty has a clear and present danger to its own citizens. One cannot expect its employees to be productive and creative in such environments. This not some BS i’m smoking up, but are facts that psychologist have shown in studies on why productivity is low in the developing world.

  For why MS goes to Dubai …I hope deep down you dont believe the BS you’re giving me, if not - then no point in me even arguing with you. Believe me, its a miracle they’re still hiring pakistanis at all!

• 6 ashghar // Dec 9, 2007 at 6:20 pm

  dear friend,

  Firstly I am not a teenager, far from it :) but I won’t get into what I am doing.

  About MS, I know the recruiting company personally that shortlists, arranges interviews. FYI, Microsoft does NOT do all recruiting, it’s outsourced to a company (it’s an HR consultancy firm, one of the biggest in the world). So get your facts straight before jumping into your world of rhetoric.
  It’s not a miracle that Microsoft is hiring from Pakistan; you are underestimating the universities here :) We are good thats why they are hiring. They need people from Pakistan or for that matter anywhere in the world. They don’t care about Mush or your little fantasies of free speech, basic rights etc. :P

  Secondly, I deal with multinationals from Australia, to Europe to the US. While there are concerns about the situations in Pakistan but Pakistan is still one of the ‘emerging’ economies; and you only need to open your eyes to see how much investment is being done around you (in the latest developments, did you see shaadi.com billboards in Lahore?)

  Also ask any software firm in Pakistan; ask the owners of naitazi about the resource crunch in Pakistan; which only points to the large number of companies doing good. Ask about general salaries and see the industry trend.

  So please start reading the newspaper, observe the industry. I don’t know your educational/professional background, but you sound like one of the uncles who talk about a perfect land :) in his drawing-room, on a cup of tea. It seems to be fashionable to talk about how bad economy is doing, and how Pakistan is sliding into a ‘crap hole’ because of dictator/BB/Nawaz/America/Jews(?)… :)

  Lastly, my company is doing good, my friends’ firms are doing good in software, textile, garments, exports, imports etc. Also our employees are doing a lot better than last decade.

  On a different note, there is no harm doing ‘fashionable’ talk if that makes you sound like an ‘intellectual’ :) So talk about the gloomy situation of Pakistan’s economy and talk about how bad the general is and how he has destroyed Pakistan … if nothing else it helps you make interesting conversations :)

• 7 GeoAurGenoDo // Dec 10, 2007 at 9:52 am

  yeah right! You’re telling me that MS does not want to have a recruitment office in the country that provides it the largest talent pool in the area. Minus india and china which are not under dubai. There are no arabs that i know of in MS, not in the US anyway, and i can only assume the cost factor of flying people back and forth and provide them temp residence.

  You may have misunderstood when i imply musharaf is bad for pakistan. BB and NS are equally bad, but musharaf is no savior. He has fallen trap to the same vices they had. He has surrounded himself with the same SOB’s. Pakistan is in bad shape today, and if someone with absolute authority couldnt fix it in 8 years than lets open our eyes and accept that it wont happen in the next 80 either with the same man!
  We need to get rid of mushy before he becomes a king and completely loses his grip on reality

• 8 ashghar // Dec 10, 2007 at 7:42 pm

  MS started their Pakistan operations in 2005/2006 (not quite sure). I think in due time they may start interviewing here. Security has nothing to do with the interviews being conducted in Dubai (in fact in 2001, some interviews were conducted in Avari Lahore, you can ask from Bsc2001 Lums alumini … I think around 14+ were hired at that time).

  Regarding Musharaf, he has managed things well (not as well as you or I would want but I would still be on his side). He basically has the toughest job in the world for managing religious extremists, America and the opportunist political parties.

  Lastly, I don’t think he wants to stick to power. He has stepped down as COAS, and if things don’t go well, will step down as President as well.

Leave a Comment