As muslim countries progress, why do so many in the west react with anger and jealousy?

A futuristic classroom at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. KAUST is becoming a jealousy magnet.

TechCrunch just published a piece about the inauguration of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology(KAUST). This institution is absolutely marvelous by all accounts. Not only does it have a $10BN endowment, one of the largest of any institution in the Islamic world,  it also has state of the art facilities, ranging from the world’s 15th most powerful supercomputer (Shaheen), to a nano tech fabrication lab  and the world’s highest resolution immersive visualization display. And these wonders are just the beginning. A lot more lies in wait for students and researchers. Shaheen, for example, will continue to be upgraded and will climb the world supercomputer rankings rapidly. Last but not least, the campus itself, built on 30 sq km, is beautiful.

So, when TechCrunch sent a correspondent to cover the launch of the University and King Abdullah’s inaugural address, I expected that the event would attract the right sort of attention; folks interested in education, and happy to see progress and development. Unfortunately, the reactions on TechCrunch have been largely ugly, to say the least.

USB Gladiators: PTCL EVO and Wordcall EV-DO go to war

Khooni Muqabla

A few months ago I wrote a review about PTCL’s then brand-spanking-new EV-DO service. And if memory serves, I was pretty high on it. Since then, I’ve been travelling internationally much of the time and haven’t had an opportunity to use it much or to followup on the numerous comments and alternate perspectives that were presented in  the original review’s discussion section. A lot of folks felt that it wasn’t working as well and many opined that Wordcall might be the better option.

So with the spirit of sacrifice firmly entrenched in my heart, I ventured out to perform yet another noble public service that TechLahore has become world renowned for… I purchased a Worldcall EV-DO USB device. Now I could put the two competing dongles in a glass jar, seal said jar with an impregnable carboard-and-rubberband lid and watch as both dongles played out their enmity by beating each other black and blue. Hehehe. Which dongle would survive?

I was incredibly disappointed when – even after my best efforts and much verbal prodding – both dongles just lay lifeless in the glass jar. A kid whose candy had been snatched from him, was I. The smile that anticipation of impending violence had put on my face was wiped clean in moments. It was quite clear. These damn dongles had no fight in them at all… pathetic little sissy boys. Thus, I was forced to take alternate measures.

Times Square in Lahore: Hydra of Abu Dhabi teams up with DHA Lahore on $1.4B project

A preliminary design shows Lahore's upcoming Times Square - 17 skyscrapers between 29 and 42 stories tall!

Let the good times roll! The KSE is rocketing north once more, foreign exchange remittances by Pakistanis abroad are hitting all time highs and property deals are happening left, right and center. The Pakistani economy is booming, baby!

I was thrilled to see a recent announcement by the much respected Defence Housing Authority, Lahore, concerning their partnering with the now-famous UAE based property development group, Hydra. They are embarking on a massive undertaking that will contribute positively to Lahore’s rapid development, and to jobs and economic opportunities in the city.

Lahore’s Rachna power plant to produce up to 25MW of energy from… crap!

Lahore is about to get one of these incineration power plants!

Here’s some positive news on the power generation front. On the heels of the 75MW wind based energy project recently commissioned in Sindh, Lahore is now entering the alternate energy race. (I still want to do a post about the wind power project in Sindh, so I guess I shouldn’t steal much of my thunder on that subject now)

The Rachna Industrial Estate, just outside Lahore, is getting its very own state-of-the-art power plant. This new facility will allow refuse and garbage to be turned into useful – much needed – electricity. While the total output, at 25MW, is not all that high, it is still about 1% of the deficit we currently face. Not only that, getting energy from waste means a lower oil import bill, and frankly, a good place to send the waste to! Awesome all around. Here’s to many more Rachnas!

New Swiss Airplane to fly 24×7 on sun juice; is Solar finally coming of age?

Solar Impulse HB-SIA - sailing through the atmosphere on sun power

News.com reports that a new Swiss aircraft will be the first to fly night and day without the need for any external source of energy. All its power needs will be met by the nearly 12,000 solar cells mounted on top of its wings. And those are pretty large wings too, mind you. The span is about the same as a Boeing 747, which stands at about 229 feet.

Borschberg and Piccard (no, not Jean-luc), the project promoters, will be taking the HB-SIA for a test spin this year, followed by a second flight in 2010. Soon after, in 2012, they intend to unveil the next generation of their solar powered marvel, in which they hope to fly around the world.

According to C|Net’s news.com:

Pakistan jumps 10 places on A.T. Kearney’s list – BusinessWeek recognizes Pakistan as one of the world’s leading IT destinations

The Centaurus rises in Islamabad. A huge, almost $400M infrastructure project that will be completed next year. Rapid construction in progress.

BusinessWeek just published an article about Pakistan’s rapidly rising stature as an international information technology outsourcing destination. The article cites A.T. Kearney’s May 2009 report which places Pakistan at number 20, up 10 places from the 2007 ranking of 30. This is despite all the rhetoric and nonsense in the media that doesn’t deserve much attention here – but Sepoy can introduce you to the “Talibothra” rubbish I’m talking about.

You have to be completely blind and devoid of any intellect to not recognize the progress that has been unfolding with great rapidity in Pakistan. Granted, the positive news and media glorification you would expect if this were happening in, say Brazil, has been found lacking. Quite the contrary, the NY Times, and the fast-failing industry it represents, has still not quite gotten over the decade old obsession with the Church of the Flying Talibothra Monster.

So, humour me for a moment and subtract the malevolent sensationalism from the discussion. What you’re left with is the story of a country whose GDP continues to grow despite the global recession, where infrastructure is being built and expanded at a frantic pace, a country that has seen its stock exchange go up by 30% this year, a country that is significantly increasing development spend and bringing alternate energy projects online, developing new dams, increasing high-technology exports and expanding its universities.

The amazing awesomeness of PTCL’s EV-DO wireless broadband

PTCL's EV-DO service is sweeeet!

The communication infrastructure in Pakistan, both wired and wireless, is quite incredible. There’s one pet pieve I’d had for a while though, and that’s the lack of inexpensive, true mobile broadband in Lahore. WiMAX is available, but I haven’t come across a USB dongle from Wateen so far. Their rates are also a bit on the higher side, with download caps and other nonsense. WiTribe and Mobilink are offering their services in Karachi only at this time. I’ve tried Telenor’s Edge USB dongle and PTCL’s WLL USB mobile. The former is too slow for full-fledged web surfing, video watching etc. and the latter – though a bit faster – is too clumsy. You end up having to plug-in a mobile WLL handset, a candybar phone, into your USB port. The thing hangs out and hampers mobility. I just don’t like it. And it delivers only about 20Kbps. Just not worth it.

6,000 Pakistani companies operating in the UAE. Pakistanis have invested 6.7B Dirhams in Dubai real estate.

Emaar UAE's Pakistan subsidiary is building Crescent Bay in Karachi

There is little doubt in the fact that the UAE and Pakistani economies are increasingly inter-twined. On this very blog, we’ve talked about substantial UAE investments in Pakistan, in particular in real-estate, Banking and Telecommunications. And of course, in one of the most important new projects under construction in Pakistan, the $5BN Khalifa Refinery.

This, however, is the flip side of that story. Economic integration comes when you have a symbiotic relationship. And that’s where Pakistan and the UAE are headed. According to statistics published in The News today, Pakistanis have already invested Rs. 190BN in UAE real-estate, and over 6,000 Pakistani companies are now registered and operating in the United Arab Emirates. A few months ago, we alerted you to Netsol’s (a Pakistani software company) listing on the Dubai Stock Exchange. Looks like there will be a lot more of this happening in future!

Postmodern Pakistan

The Karachi Creek Marina - under construction now and rising fast!

Pakistan is such an absolutely amazing place. If you put that copy of Newsweek down for a moment and think what we’ve built in the last 60 years, I think rationality would require you to be close to awe-struck. Today we are a country on the verge of ascent into globally acknowledged greatness. We were born under circumstances that were supposed to lead to our demise inside of 12 months, according to the Nehru/Mountbatten calculus. Not only are we still around, we are 170 million strong, with consistently increasing GDP, a resilient economy, amazingly intelligent people, brilliant businesspeople and an ever-increasing global role.

Yes, we have our problems, but these are absolutely nothing compared to what we have already surmounted and what we are about to achieve. Let me break it down like so: what are our problems today? Or let me ask this another way, what if we achieved the following:

1) 100% literacy, up from the current 50-60% levels
2) Completely indigenous power production for 100+% of our needs
3) Reduction in population growth to 1.2%, with further annual reductions from there on
4) Control over fringe nihilist elements let loose in our society by X, Y and Z.
5) Impenetrable external defences
6) An economy that produces a trade surplus
7) A quadrupling of GDP (and per capita income)

Pakistan’s PIA is back. In Black.

PIA's brand new fleet of Boeing 777-LRs and ERs

Pakistan International Airlines has an amazing history. It was, through the 50s, 60s and 70s, perhaps Asia’s leading airline. These were the days of Pierre Cardin designed uniforms, amazing ads, trail blazing destinations (PIA was one of the world’s first non communist airlines to fly to Beijing) and unparalleled service.

Starting in the 70’s, though, things began to change. PIA was taken over by less than competent management. The global airline scene became far less friendly, new regulations, security and political considerations made life difficult for passengers and oil prices have, more recently, become an excuse for most airlines to reduce levels of service. PIA has not been immune to any of these unwelcome changes. And if that wasn’t enough, with Pakistan’s Open Skies aviation deregulation policy, which was initiated almost 15 years ago, PIA’s exclusivity as the only airline operating in Pakistan was no more. This was certainly good for Pakistan and the aviation industry in general, but not so much for PIA. A slew of new names hit the scene; Shaheen, Bhoja, Aero Asia, Askari, Royal Airlines, Schon Air, Princely Jets (charter), Air Blue and others. With increased competition on domestic and international routes and a slide into mismanagement PIA was not doing well. In particular, over the last 5 years, PIA has been posting losses consistently.