Straight to the Facts

Straight to the Facts — a Criterion Quarterly production, in collaboration with Talking Sense — is a show that contains a series of interviews of scholars and experts in a variety of fields from International Relations to Economics to the Environment to Artificial Intelligence, and much more. While addressing global dynamics, our primary focus is on contemporary issues affecting Pakistan and its neighbors. Through this endeavor, we hope to counter fake news and conspiracy theories in order to bring a semblance of reality, and authenticity to issues that are transforming the world as we know it.

This episode of ‘Straight to the Facts’ is a comment and introduction to the recent special edition publication of Criterion Quarterly on “The Hindutva Mindset”.

Our guest, in this episode of Straight to the Facts, is Ms. Gulmina Bilal Ahmad. She is the first female chairperson of the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission of Pakistan.

In our conversation, we discuss the work being done in Pakistan in vocational training and skill development. These initiatives provide the platform/foundation needed for our citizens to be more employable (at home and abroad) and to enhance their incomes (upward socioeconomic mobility).

Ms. Gulmina Bilal Ahmad rightly stated: “If education is the key, then vocational training is the master key.”

For further information on this topic and how you can benefit from this vocational and technical training drive in Pakistan, we encourage our viewers to visit the following websites:

https://navttc.gov.pk

https://skillingpakistan.gov.pk/

Recently, the Pakistan Mineral Forum 2025, was held in Islamabad. The objective of the event was to unlock the true potential of Pakistan’s mineral wealth. Representatives and potential investors from multiple countries, including Turkiye, China, America and Russia, were invited and attended the conference.

Our guest today is Mr. Shahid Iqbal Qureshi, a speaker at the conference, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pakistan Gems and Jewelry Development Company, within the Federal Ministry of Industries and Production.

This is part 2 of a 2 part conversation with Dr. Jordanka Tomkova.

The Asian Development Bank initiated a technical assistance project in Pakistan in late 2023. One of the products of this project is a report titled, “Country Digital Ecosystem Diagnostic Report for Pakistan”.

Our guest today, Dr. Jordanka Tomkova, is a consultant for this project. She is an expert of digital transformation and transition in the digital age.

This is part 1 of a 2 part conversation with Dr. Jordanka Tomkova.

The Asian Development Bank initiated a technical assistance project in Pakistan in late 2023. One of the products of this project is a report titled, “Country Digital Ecosystem Diagnostic Report for Pakistan”.

Our guest today, Dr. Jordanka Tomkova, is a consultant for this project. She is an expert of digital transformation and transition in the digital age.

This is the final part of a 3 part conversation with Mohammad Jameel Sear.

He is a digital era futurist and thought leader; focused on bringing purpose to the benefits of the digital era for nations.

In this episode of ‘Straight to the Facts’, Muhammad Sear discusses reimagining for the digital era as opposed to using IT to just digitize a process. He proceeds to explain the need for an organization/nation to develop a strategy that looks beyond the narrow lens of IT to survive or thrive in the digital era that we are living in.

This is Part 2 of a 3 part conversation with Mohammad Jameel Sear.

He is a digital era futurist and thought leader; focused on bringing purpose to the benefits of the digital era for nations.

In this episode of ‘Straight to the Facts’, Muhammad Sear discusses the path that Pakistan needs to pursue to be progressive and relevant in the digital era.

This is part 1 of a 3 part conversation with Mohammad Jameel Sear.

He is a digital era futurist and thought leader; focused on bringing purpose to the benefits of the digital era for nations.

He is currently leading the digital government, public sector and start up practices across the Middle East and North Africa for a global consultancy firm.

He has also recently written a book titled: Becoming Digital Nations – Reimagining Countries for the Digital Era.

He likes to think of himself as a Chief Disruption Officer. Let us find out why.

This is part 2 of a 2 part ‘Straight to the Facts’ interview with Nasruminallah Mian who is a practitioner and expert in the digital & ICT sector and a former government servant.

In this part he further expands on the theme of his article titled: “Pakistan’s Quest for Economic Growth through Digital Transformation”.

This is part 1 of a 2 part ‘Straight to the Facts’ interview with Nasruminallah Mian who is a practitioner and expert in the digital and ICT sector and a former government servant.

He recently wrote an article for ‘Criterion Quarterly’ titled: “Pakistan’s Quest for Economic Growth through Digital Transformation”.

In this part of the interview he elaborates on his article and explains what digital transformation is, Pakistan’s untapped potential and the process needed to achieve this potential.

Welcome to the last part of a 4-part conversation that Straight to the Facts had with Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel who is one of the foremost experts in Pakistan on climate change and its impact on the environment.

In this episode we discuss the need of small and medium size dams in Pakistan and conclude with the issue of toxic wastes being dumped into the country’s water supply and the need of sustainable disposal of waste in the country.

This is part 3 of a 4-part conversation in Straight to the Facts with Ambassador Shafqat Sakakhel on Climate Change.

Ambassador Kakakhel wrote an article for Criterion Quarterly in the July/September 2023 issue. It was titled “The Indus River Basin Saga: The Need for Reinvigorating the Indus Waters Treaty.”

An interesting point was highlighted in this article which was the connection between Pakistan’s national water policy and national security policy. Ambassador Kakakhel wrote: “Pakistan’s water-related issues have domestic and external dimensions that must be tackled simultaneously. The country’s first ever national water policy (April 2018) and the national security policy of Pakistan (2022-26) recognized the urgency of addressing both the domestic and external features of our water worries. The national security policy declared that unhindered access to our transboundary waters is ‘a national security imperative’.”

Our viewers can read the entire article via: http://criterion-quarterly.com/mystaging02/indus-river-basin-saga/

In the meanwhile, in this episode of Straight to the Facts, we delved deeper and contextualized the paragraph in our discussions with Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel.

This is part 2 of a 4-part conversation in straight to the facts with Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, one of the foremost experts in Pakistan on climate change and its impact on the environment.

In this episode we discuss the need for long term solutions to tackle the effects of climate change that require continuous unabated commitment and efforts from successive governments.

In addition, the Conference of the Parties or COP, with climate finance being an integral part of climate diplomacy in these summits, is discussed. The inadequate commitments by developed countries, emphasizes on mitigation and not adaptation, and the grievances of the global south have also been highlighted.

This episode of Straight to the Facts was filmed just a few days before COP29 was hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel, therefore, mentions the annual US $100 Billion commitment by developed countries for climate finance to developing countries agreed in COP15. After COP29, this number has been increased to US $300 Billion. Despite a three times increase it is still considered as inadequate.

This is part 1 of a 4 part interview of Ambassador Shafqat Kakakhel who is one of the foremost experts of climate change and its impact on the environment. He is a former Ambassador of Pakistan who later served as Deputy Executive Director in the UN Environment Program with the rank of UN Assistant Secretary General. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute in Islamabad.

In this episode of Straight to the Facts he discusses what climate change is, its global significance, the implementation of global solutions through national policies, regulations and efforts, and in specific what Pakistan has achieved and needs to achieve in its efforts to tackle the multidimensional ramifications of climate change.

This is part 3 of a 3 part interview with Ambassador Masood Khalid who served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to China for approximately 6 and a half years. He discusses the potential of people to people interaction between the two countries and how Pakistan has benefited as other countries look at the country through the CPEC prism for future investments. He concludes with a summary of his personal impression of China that he developed over the time that he spent there.

Part 2 of a 3 part interview of Ambassador Masood Khalid who served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to China for approximately six and a half years. He discusses the Pakistan-China relationship, CPEC, multilateralism, transit trade, regional connectivity, security concerns, Afghanistan and regional cooperation — all in the context of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

An in-depth interview of Ambassador Masood Khalid, who served as Pakistan’s Ambassador to China for six and a half years. He explains the Pakistan-China relationship and Pakistan’s foreign policy options in context to the emerging US-China rivalry.