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Pakistan Press Foundation

Voice over internet: Grey telephony costs public purse Rs800m a month

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: The government is facing an estimated revenue loss of Rs800 million per month on account of ‘grey telephony’, The Express Tribune has learnt. “Network operators in Pakistan cannot detect over 70% of illegal telephonic traffic. The state lacks resources to keep the whole telecom sector under the scanner,” FIA Director General Saud Mirza told […]


Simply censorship

Pakistan Press Foundation

The many freedoms the Pakistani press and media enjoy today are a result of years of vibrant activism and struggle by journalists and civil society. The state (and all its various manifestations) unable to have direct control (of privately owned media) because of decent media laws, now employs subversive tactics to keep things under control. […]


Internet censorship in Pakistan

Pakistan Press Foundation

He is a devout Muslim. He prays five times a day. He observes fasting during the holy month of Ramazan. He recites the Holy Quran in the morning and evening. His very name is Mohammad Islam. He loves Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) like anybody else does. Nay, he loves him even more. For, when there surfaced […]


YouTube ban

Pakistan Press Foundation

Sir: On September 17, 2012, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ordered access to YouTube blocked after the website did not remove the trailer of Sam Bacile’s Innocence of Muslims, a film insulting Islam. Pakistan banned YouTube because it was considered blasphemous for defaming Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Since this ban months ago, the government has […]


Ministry hesitant over YouTube opening

Pakistan Press Foundation

By: Usman Cheema ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom is facing the situation of ‘who will bell the cat,’ as the government wants to reopen YouTube but is unable to find a shoulder to share load if something wrong happens. The Nation through reliable sources has learnt that the previous and incumbent governments are […]


One year to the YouTube ban

Pakistan Press Foundation

THIS refers to your editorial ‘Still not accessible: YouTube ban’(July 18). It was Sept 17 last year when the people of Pakistan accessed the world’s most popular video streaming site YouTube without any hindrance. Since then, it is a total blackout. Though proxies have made the site still accessible, it is officially banned in Pakistan. […]


Telenor team calls on IT State Minister

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology Ms. Anusha Rahaman held a meeting with a delegation of Telenor headed by Telenor senior Vice President Tore Johnsen on Tuesday. Delegation appreciated the various steps for creation of business friendly environment taken so for by the new Government in Pakistan. In the meeting, delegation negated all the […]


YouTube ban

Pakistan Press Foundation

We are approaching a year since YouTube was banned in the country in September 2012 on the orders of then prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to stop access to a blasphemous film uploaded on the site. The said film had led to massive protests in the country. The continued blockage of the entire sight – […]


YouTube ban

Pakistan Press Foundation

We are approaching a year since YouTube was banned in the country in September 2012 on the orders of then prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to stop access to a blasphemous film uploaded on the site. The said film had led to massive protests in the country. The continued blockage of the entire sight – […]


IT & telecom sector’s issues to be resolved: Anusha

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: After listening to the problems faced by the IT and telecom sector, Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman held a meeting with Pakistan Telecom Authority here on Wednesday to address the issues faced by the sector. In a meeting with the Minister, CEOs of telecom companies had raised several issues faced by […]


Telecom sector’s outflows reach $390.9m

Pakistan Press Foundation

By: Mehtab Haider ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s telecom sector has witnessed net outflows of $390.9 million in the outgoing financial year, official sources told the News on MondayExperts said that puts a big question mark on the the PML-N government’s plan to auction Third Generation (3G) technology to fetch around $1 billion in licence fees. The raising […]


The media challenge

Pakistan Press Foundation

By: HUMA YUSUF INFORMATION Minister Pervaiz Rashid recently emphasised the PML-N government’s support for free media, acknowledging that it’s vital for promoting democracy. Ironically, that was one of the first things General Pervez Musharraf said after seizing power, in part to distinguish himself from his predecessor Nawaz Sharif, only to be ousted a decade later […]


Ban on YouTube

Pakistan Press Foundation

Thus far in its short term, the caretaker government has been content to stay relatively low-key, and even though a peaceful transfer of power to the next democratically-elected government is the main goal of the caretaker set-up, there is another area where it can stamp its mark. The ban on YouTube now stands at 200 […]


‘MoIT, PTA to devise SIMs verification mode’

Pakistan Press Foundation

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Monday directed the Ministry of Information Technology (MoIT) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to devise a mechanism on verification of mobile phone SIMs (Subscriber Identity Module), in consultation with cellular companies. The Prime Minister gave the instructions in a meeting with a delegation of private cellular operators. Prime […]