A fast-paced, hair-raising journey around Karachi in the company of those who know the city inside out - from an electrifying new voice in narrative non-fiction. Karachi. Pakistan’s largest city is a sprawling metropolis of twenty million people, twice the size of New York City. It is a place of political turbulence in which those who have power wield it with brutal and partisan force. It takes an insider to know where is safe, who to trust, and what makes Karachi tick. In this powerful debut, Samira Shackle explores the city of her mother’s birth in the company of a handful of Karachiites. Among them is Safdar the ambulance driver, who knows the city’s streets and shortcuts intimately and will stop at nothing to help his fellow citizens. There is Parveen, the activist whose outspoken views on injustice repeatedly lead her towards danger. And there is Zille, the hardened journalist whose commitment to getting the best scoops puts him at increasing risk. Their individual experiences unfold and converge, as Shackle tells the bigger story of Karachi over the past decade as it endures a terrifying crime wave: a period in which the Taliban arrive in Pakistan, adding to the daily perils for its residents and pushing their city into the international spotlight. Writing with intimate local knowledge and a global perspective, Shackle paints a vivid portrait of one of the most complex and compelling cities in the world, a city where the borders blur between politicians and gangsters and between lawful and unlawful, as dangerous new forces of violent extremism are pitted against old networks of power.

This handbook examines Pakistan’s 70-year history from a number of different perspectives. When Pakistan was born, it did not have a capital, a functioning government or a central bank. The country lacked a skilled workforce. While the state was in the process of being established, eight million Muslim refugees arrived from India, who had to be absorbed into a population of 24 million people. However, within 15 years, Pakistan was the fastest growing and transforming economy in the developing world, although the political evolution of the country during this period was not equally successful. Pakistan has vast agricultural and human resources, and its location promises trade, investment and other opportunities. Chapters in the volume, written by experts in the field, examine government and politics, economics, foreign policy and environmental issues, as well as social aspects of Pakistan’s development, including the media, technology, gender and education. Shahid Javed Burki is an economist who has been a member of the faculty at Harvard University, USA, and Chief Economist, Planning and Development Department, Government of the Punjab. He has also served as Minister of Finance in the Government of Pakistan, and has written a number of books, and journal and newspaper articles. He joined the World Bank in 1974 as a senior economist and went on to serve in several senior positions. He was the (first) Director of the China Department (1987–94) and served as the Regional Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean during 1994–99. He is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Shahid Javed Burki Institute of Public Policy at NetSol (BIPP) in Lahore. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is a career Bangladeshi diplomat and former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Bangladesh (2007–08). He has a PhD in international relations from the Australian National University, Canberra. He began his career as a member of the civil service of Pakistan in 1969. Dr Chowdhury has held senior diplomatic positions in the course of his career, including as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations in New York (2001–07) and in Geneva (1996–2001), and was ambassador to Qatar, Chile, Peru and the Vatican. He is currently a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. Asad Ejaz Butt is the Director of the Burki Institute of Public Policy, Lahore, Pakistan.

The Penguin Economist Special reports delve into the most pressing economic issues of the day: from national and global economies, to the impact of trade, industry and jobs. Written to be read on a long commute or in your lunch hour - be better informed in under an hour. Pakistan is in a tricky situation. It is under constant scrutiny by the world media but is more often than not described in terms of its problems. There are indeed difficulties - bordering the unsettled nations of Afghanistan and Iran puts it in a precarious position. A poor and badly educated population for the most part is not helping the country's growth. There is hope. The wealth of natural resources, a growing, urban population and a more democratic government all point to a positive future. But with the NATO withdrawal from its troubled neighbours nearing, Pakistan's survival hangs in the balance. Simon Long's special report includes the following sections: Perilous Journey Too close for comfort State of vulnerability Captain's innings In the shadow of the mosque Lights off A taste of Hunny Always with us Dripping with blood Going with the flow

Heiress Kamila Mughal is humiliated when her brother's best friend snubs her to marry a social climbing nobody from Islamabad. Roya discovers her fiancé has been cheating on her and ends up on a blind date on her wedding day. Beautiful young widow Begum Saira Qadir has mourned her husband, but is she finally ready to start following her own desires? Inspired by Jane Austen and set in contemporary Pakistan, Austenistan is a collection of seven stories; romantic, uplifting, witty, and heartbreaking by turn, which pay homage to the world's favourite author in their own uniquely local way.

A few bloody months in South Asia during the summer of 1947 explain the world that troubles us today.

'The powerful story of a woman who was ahead of her time' Mishal Husain, presenter at BBC World News, BBC Weekend News, BBC News at Six, Radio 4 A beautiful woman in winged eyeliner and a low-cut top lies on a bed urging her favourite cricketer to win the next match. In another post, she pouts at the camera from a hot tub. She posts a selfie with a cleric, wearing his cap at a jaunty angle. Her posts are viewed millions of times and the comments beneath them are full of hate. As her notoriety grows, the comments made about her on national talk shows are just as vitriolic. They call her Pakistan's Kim Kardashian, they say she'll do anything for attention. When she's murdered, they're transfixed by the footage of her body. Drawing on interviews and in-depth research, Sanam Maher pieces together Qandeel's life from the village where she grew up in the backwaters of rural Pakistan, to her stint in a women's shelter after escaping her marriage, to her incarnation as a social media sensation and the Muslim world's most unlikely feminist icon.

This book about the economy of Pakistan from the 1970s to the 2010s. Source data from UN Data.Size. In the 2010s, the gross domestic product of Pakistan was equal to 239.6 billion US$ per year; the value of agriculture was 56.8 billion US$; the value of manufacturing was 31.2 billion US$. Since the share in the world is between .1% and 1%, the country is classified as an average economy.Productivity. In the 2010s, the gross domestic product per capita was 1 304.6 US$; the agriculture per capita was 309.2 US$; the manufacturing per capita was 169.8 US$. Since the productivity is less the average below average, the economy is classified as least developed.Growth. In the 2010s, the growth of gross domestic product was 4.1%; the growth of agriculture was 2.1%; the growth of manufacturing was 3.6%.Structure. In the 2010s, the economy of Pakistan included: agriculture (35.7%), trade (19.6%), service (19.2%), industry (14.6%), transportation (7.5%), and construction (3.4%).Export and import. In the 2010s, the import was 61.3% higher than the export, the net import was equal to 7.0% of the GDP. The technological structure of export is not better than the structure of import.Consumption and reproduction. The attitude of reproduction to the consumption is not better than the global average, so the share of GDP in the world will not increase.