The Londoner

 By Sikander Hayat  Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world with per capita income of USD 81,993.7 and very high living standards. At the same time cost of living is also one of the highest in Switzerland and is around 60% more expensive than the European Union average.   Switzerland is a confederacy with 26 cantons which almost act as separate states in many matters including taxation which differs greatly from one canton to another. So it matters a lot where you live in Switzerland. German speaking canton generally have lower taxation than French and Italian speaking Cantons.  Here is the names of German Speaking Cantons:  Aargau Appenzell Ausserrhoden Appenzell Innerrhoden Basel-Stadt Basel-Landschaft Glarus Lucerne Nidwalden Obwalden Schaffhausen Schwyz Solothurn St. Gallen Thurgau Uri Zug Zurich Here are names of French speaking cantons: Geneva Jura Neuchâtel Vaud Here are the names of Cantons which are both French and German speaking (...

By Sikander Hayat  Fawad Alam played a masterful innings in the first innings of the first Test match against South Africa in Karachi . He scored 109 runs, played 245 balls and stayed on the wicket for 353 minutes in a mammoth effort to bring Pakistan back into the Test match at Karachi cricket stadium . There were no fans in the stadium to enjoy this innings live but Fawad Alam proved yet again that his exclusion from Pakistan Cricket Team for last ten years was a big mistake and that Pakistan wasted a major talent by pursuing wrong selection policies. Fawad Alam is now 35 years old and can only serve Pakistan like Misbah for another few years if he stays fit and keeps scoring but he has been successful in at least doing one thing and that is to prove that he is an international level talent who should never have been dropped from Pakistan after one series in which he scored a big hundred against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.  Fawad Alam was ably support by Muhammad Rizwan and...

By Sikander Hayat Kashmir is slowly being gobbled up by India by ethinic cleansing and population transfer from the rest of India to Kashmir. Pakistan’s options are limited in terms of taking it back from India through an open armed conflict given the disparity between the two countries in terms of economy and resources. Pakistan can only play a long game by improving its economy, get richer, have good relations with richer/influential nations and wait for the Kashmiris to fight for their right of self determination .  Pakistan has made some good progress in terms of constitutional clarity for the people of Gilgit Balistan and Azad Kashmir both of which are effectively now fifth and sixth provinces of Pakistan. Azad Kashmir is now a semi autonomous region with its own President ( Masood Khan ) , Prime Minister ( Raja Farooq Haider Khan ) and Supreme Court. Azad Kashmir has its own constitution to provide international clarity in terms of status of Indian occupied Kashmir vis ...