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Archived Articles  Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian descent, and former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with the hot political and economic topics, both Bulgarian and international. ("A Royal Solution." World Press Review. June 1997, provides English versions). He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in the country, and in 1996-1997 participated in the international monitors' teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria. In 1999 he was among the few Bulgarian journalists that supported NATO military operation against Yugoslavia. In 2002 Simeon and his family emigrated from Bulgaria to Canada where they now live in Montreal, Quebec.
Global Real Estate Project
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Pakistan: Initial modernization feverPakistan is still ruled by military but the country is different from what foreigners have seen 5-6 years ago. Economy is gradually opening toward foreign investors. Former political parties are calling for restoration of democracy. The government itself is more and more frequently using modernization vocabulary trying to explain its decisions. It looks like the country, for decades remaining within the grip of traditionalist ideologies is finally caught by modernization fever. It can be seen less in new buildings and infrastructures, in this regards the country still remains backward. But people's mentality is changing; they see the world through different lenses. May we see modernization in Pakistan similar to that in China? I doubt that this will be the case; I'm inclined to think that more suitable models for Pakistan may be found in some Arab and other Muslim countries from the Middle East.
EconomyPakistani economy is slowly opening to foreign investors. The dominant mood in the country is that foreign direct investments can be very helpful in bringing the country into modern era. That won't be exactly modern era in western understanding of 21st century technologies, but even if the country comes into 20th century that would be considered as big success. Government wants new foreign markets and it looks like the population also understands the positive correlation between more trade and more prosperity. Islamabad calls to the richest countries to open their markets to Pakistani textile; these calls should be answered and the answer should be "yes". For the western consumers it doesn't matter whether the clothes they buy are made in China or Pakistan. As China moves up the ladder to more sophisticated goods and services, countries like Pakistan are best positioned to take over the less sophisticated products.
PoliticsSince October 1999 Pakistan has been ruled by military, but the political regime has become less repressive throughout the years, without however restoring democratic political liberties. 2006 may be a good year for restoring these liberties and the former main political parties, Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif, and the Pakistan People's Party of Benazir Bhutto, are already having talks on specific issues. The president and former coup organizer general Pervez Musharraf still holds the power firmly, but there are several indications that he may decide to allow more liberties in exchange of personal political guarantees and promises that the next civilian government will follow his main domestic and foreign policy agenda. The Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is considered to be open-minded technocrat who sets agenda according to national instead of narrow group interests. His approach of gradual economic opening and tolerance toward private media critiques may be used as a basis for development once political pluralism is officially restored.
MediaPerhaps the most striking new feature in Pakistan is the freedom of private electronic media, the ones that were allowed to thrive after 1999 in order to balance the Indian media influence and foreign satellite TV channels. The devastating earthquake of 2005 showed that these media could play very important role in public mobilization for providing help to the victims and their families. People saw other people dying and for many viewers these were the first footages of a kind broadcasted from their own country. They saw human tragedies, government incompetence, cruelty and compassion, help and neglect. For many this was the first real sense of national belonging outside the official propaganda and school textbooks. We can only speculate how this new dimension of national identity may change these people but there is no doubt that it will change them.
Pakistan - country profile: --------------------
See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Pakistan.
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