Pakistan's Wrong Priorities: How Long Will the Country Suffer?

Muhammad Ishfaq Khattak is one of Pakistan's most distinguished railway professionals, with more than 35 years of experience in transportation, public policy, and institutional leadership. A former CEO and Senior General Manager (Operations) of Pakistan Railways, he led the organization during a critical period and introduced wide-ranging reforms aimed at improving its financial sustainability and operational efficiency. Currently, he serves as Professor, Advisor, and Head of the Center of Excellence in Transportation and Railway Engineering at the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (PAF-IAST), Haripur. He also chairs the Board of Governors of the Medical Teaching Institution, Nowshera. Over the course of his distinguished career, Mr. Khattak has held a number of senior leadership positions, including Chairman of the Board of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Oil and Gas Company Limited (KPOGCL), Managing Director of Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consultancy Services (PRACS), and faculty member at the National Management College, Lahore, where he trained hundreds of senior civil servants in public policy and statecraft. Having served Pakistan Railways in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Peshawar, he brings unmatched expertise in train operations, railway economics, transport policy, institutional reform, and human resource management. Today, he continues to shape the future of Pakistan's transportation sector through teaching, research, and public policy. Anil Nakra is a Jaipur-based businessman, commentator, film critic, tabla player, and YouTuber with a deep love for Urdu—a passion he inherited from his elders. His affection for the language is so strong that his family and friends jokingly call him a "half-Muslim." Despite this cultural affinity, he is disheartened by the rigidity he observes among many Indian Muslims. His ancestral roots lie in Piplan, a small town near Mianwali in Pakistani Punjab, for which he continues to feel deep affection and emotional attachment. *********************************** Shakil Chaudhary is a journalist, author, and researcher. He is an alumnus of Government College, Lahore. He later studied International Relations at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. Over the years, he has worked for several leading English-language newspapers and a few other organizations. He is the author of the critically acclaimed bilingual book Handbook of Functional English (Ferozsons), designed to help South Asians improve their English language skills. Prof. Tariq Rahman, one of South Asia’s most distinguished linguistic scholars, has praised the book, calling it “an excellent guide for the South Asian user of the English language.” Shakil has twice spoken at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., and has conducted numerous workshops on communication, writing, and critical thinking. He is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and served as President of the Progressive Writers' Association, Islamabad, from 2021 to 2022. He has attended Rotary’s annual conventions in Toronto and Hamburg. These are some of his notable interviews: 👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 1:    • Copying Tharoor? Shakil Chaudhary Slammed ...   👉 Sardar Masood Khan, former president, AJK, Part 2:    • "You Are Representing India," Sardar Masoo...   👉 Ambassador Abdul Basit:    • Ambassador Abdul Basit: Pakistan has not d...   👉 Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani:    • Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, former ISI chief: W...   👉 Shahid Siddiqui, a former member of India’s parliament:    • Shahid Siddiqui: The partition ruined Indi...   You’re welcome to follow him on these social media platforms: 👉   / shakilchaudharyofficial   👉   / shakil.chaudary   👉   / shakchaudhary