4th March 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
This was another sad week for Pakistan. On Wednesday morning, I was telling journalists about a doubling of the UK’s aid to Pakistan, when I was horrified to hear that Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti had been shot and killed in broad daylight in Islamabad. As I said that day, his death is a loss to […]
2nd February 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
Six months ago Pakistan was hit by devastating monsoon floods. This was – and remains – a disaster shocking in its scale and impact. The world risks forgetting that 20 million people were affected – more than the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan and Haiti earthquakes combined. Almost two thousand people […]
29th November 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
Do you want to study in the UK? The British Council here in Pakistan are running an exciting exhibition until 4 December. Anyone interested in studying in the UK really ought to visit it. It showcases the amazing range of courses and the high quality of student experience that British universities can offer international students. […]
19th November 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
This week in Islamabad, the Government of Pakistan and the international community came together for the first meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum in two years. Just over three months since Pakistan’s devastating monsoon floods, it was a chance for the Government of Pakistan and the international community to take stock of the challenges facing […]
15th October 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in writing about an important issue that affects us all. This year’s topic is water. This is a crucial matter for poor Pakistan. Tragically, the country has too much water right now as it struggles to recover from unprecedented and devastating floods. […]
17th August 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
The devastating floods across Pakistan over the last few weeks are completely heart-breaking. Our sympathies and prayers go out to the families of those who have died, the families who have lost their homes and livelihoods, and the millions and millions of Pakistanis across the country whose lives have been shaken by this awful disaster. […]
Read more on An exceptional disaster demands an exceptional response | Reply
5th July 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
The Cabinet Ministers of the new British coalition government are queuing up to come to Pakistan. In the past three weeks I have hosted both our new International Development Minister, Andrew Mitchell, and our new Foreign Minister, William Hague. It makes sense. Pakistan is already Britain’s second largest development programme and this is quite likely […]
27th May 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
Whatever else Pakistanis may think about India, the evidence of economic growth there is hard to deny. Last week I visted Gurgaon, the new city outside New Delhi. It is mushrooming. Twelve years ago, when I last took a look, it practically wasn’t there. Now it has all the shopping malls, office blocks and building […]
18th May 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
For British citizens the outcome of last week’s General Election has been pretty remarkable. For the first time since the Second World War we have a coalition government. And we have the prospect of some quite substantial constitutional change: legislation to give Parliament a fixed term of five years, a referendum on whether to move […]
7th May 2010 Islamabad, Pakistan
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s National Assembly voted 292 to 0 to amend the country’s Constitution, passing more power from the President to the Prime Minister and from the centre to the provincial governments. The Senate followed suit and the amendment has been signed into law. The change restores the Constitution to something closer to the […]