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Riaz Haq's Blog – May 2011 Archive (8)

Hookah Smoking Health Risks Worry Americans

Since the hookah (shisha or water pipe) made its debut in North America a few decades ago among immigrant communities, it has continued to gain in popularity and now found its way to hundreds of college campuses all over the continent.

Most of the hookah tobacco used in the United States is imported from the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia; as a way of catering to Western tastes, tobacco manufacturers are introducing flavors like kiwi, watermelon and blackberry. Handcrafted pipes… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 31, 2011 at 11:34pm — No Comments

Is There a Culture of Corruption in Pakistan?

Rampant corruption is believed to be a major factor impeding economic development in Pakistan and many other developing nations.

Is this corruption and lawlessness rooted in the absence of adequate law enforcement, or the lack of independent judges? Or is it a national culture of corruption that ranks such nations among the most corrupt in the world on… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 30, 2011 at 9:00am — 2 Comments

Pakistan's NADRA Excels in IT Services

All the hype about Indian IT sector makes it hard to believe that it is Pakistan, not India, which has widely deployed biometric identification technology to issue multi-purpose national ID cards and e-passports to its citizens. Is this just another case of the proverbial shoemaker's children going barefoot?

In fact, Pakistan is among the first few countries… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 26, 2011 at 4:19pm — 2 Comments

World Bank Finds Indians Poorer Than Pakistanis

In spite of recent poverty declines with its rapid economic expansion, India still has higher poverty rates than Pakistan, according to a 2011 World Bank report titled "Perspectives on poverty in India : stylized facts from survey data" released in 2011.

Overall, the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 20, 2011 at 5:29pm — 1 Comment

Pakistan's Gas Reserves

Reports of new gas reserves of 40 trillion cubic feet are specially welcome at this moment in Pakistan when it is facing a very serious and growing energy crisis. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA)… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 15, 2011 at 10:30am — 15 Comments

Youth-Led Social Media Revolution in Pakistan

Live tweets of the Abbottabad raid have brought instant fame to Pakistani blogger Sohaib Athar, and shined new light on the role of Facebook, Twitter and other social media in the country.

Dramatic expansion of the nation's middle class in the last decade has spawned… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 9, 2011 at 9:08am — 6 Comments

Origins and History of Pakistani Music

I recently gave a keynote at an event organized by Pakistani-American Cultural Center in Silicon Valley, CA, USA.

The subject was Pakistani culture and music.

Here are some of the salient points of the presentation:

Importance of Music and Culture:

-Music Helps Define Each Nation’s Culture and Identity

-Culture Helps Project Soft Power and Softer Image of a Nation

-Soft Power is Often More Effective Than Hard Power...It's easier… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 4, 2011 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Pakistan Rolling Out High Speed Broadband Access Service

Pakistan is working on a major roll-out of bonded VDSL2 to deliver 50 Mbps, five times the top speed of the nation's highest level of service today, at a construction cost of just $200-300 per home passed.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the nation’s state-controlled phone company, is deploying VDSL2 Bonding technology to… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on May 1, 2011 at 7:30pm — 3 Comments

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Blog Posts

Out-of-School Children in Pakistan

A recent Express Tribune newspaper headline screamed: "Over 27 million children out of school" It included the following graphic that looks even more scary:…

Continue

Posted by Riaz Haq on May 22, 2013 at 8:42am

Comparing 30 Years of Military Rule in Indonesia and Pakistan

General Suharto stepped down 15 years ago tomorrow. Here's an excerpt of today's New York Times story on the Indonesian strongman's legacy:

"Mr. Suharto’s spirit continues to loom over modern-day Indonesia. He brought the country back from the brink of political, social and economic…