The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat Is democracy really necessary for the development of a country and if that is the case than why China and Russia are surging ahead. China is set to become the 2nd largest economy of the world after United States by 2010 and Russia is no longer the weak country it was in the early 90s. Vast oil & gas revenues have changed the face of Russia in over a decade and one man who oversaw this transformation is Vladimir Putin . Putin is now serving as the prime minister of Russia and may come back as the President of the country he once ruled with an iron fist. Mind you, he is not far from the corridors of power while being the prime minister of Russia, he still has connection with the oligarchy/establishment of the country. He chose the current president Medvedev himself and campaigned for him in the presidential elections which West regards as fraudulent and far from free. Similarly, China in the last sixty years has surged ahead and especially in the last twent

Barcelona, Spain has one of the highest concentrations of Pakistani immigrants in Europe . This is a snapshot of this growing, dynamic, little-known community, revolving around the story of a Barcelona radio station set up by Pakistani immigrants. Ultimately, it is a story of immigration, the struggle between the homeland's traditions and Western values, in a country itself just learning to respond to a rapidly increasing immigrant population. HOME

By Sikander Hayat > Turkish overtures towards east are big news these days as Turkish prime minister visited Syria and Pakistan in last week or so. Many people believe that Turks must abandon European dream as they have rejected again and again by Europeans. They must understand that they are too big and powerful for the EU to allow them in and by this time they must understand that not matter how secular they are or strive to be, the tag of being a Muslim country is hampering their dream. They must leave this notion and try to revive RCD so that Turkey, Iran and Pakistan can create an economic and ever closer political union and with 300 million people, this would be the most respected economic zone in the world. There are pre-requisites to this zone being established and must be fulfilled before anything like this could happen. Pakistan must resolve her terrorism problem, Iran must get rid of its mullah regime to establish a secular forward looking Islamic country and Turkey must

By Sikander Hayat United Status’s ambassador to Afghanistan has asked Mr Obama to not send any further troops into Afghanistan which is in stark contradiction to what Gen Stanley McChrystal asked for. According to UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper “His remarks will infuriate Gen Stanley McChrystal, the NATO commander in the country, who has asked for a further 40,000 US troops to add to the 68,000 already there. It is also likely to frustrate politicians and military chiefs in the UK, who have repeatedly called for a decision on Gen McChrystal's request. Over the weekend, the Chief of the Defense Staff Sir Jock Stirrup backed Gen McChrystal's surge strategy and criticized Washington for dragging its heels. Last month, the head of the British Army, General Sir David Richards, rejected alternative plans backed by Vice-president Joe Biden that NATO reduce troop numbers in Afghanistan and concentrate on counter-terrorist operations using Special Forces. Gen Karl Eikenberry's inter