The YouTube ban in Pakistan has just entered its sixteenth month–with its duration equally divided between the previous government which slapped it and the current government which was supposed to undo it. That this saga has gone on for so long is not surprising to Pakistanis who are quite used to a status quo where […]
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block all illegal and unregistered SIMs (subscriber identity module) of Afghan and Pakistani cellular phone companies within 15 days as these had been mostly used in acts of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and extortion. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad […]
ISLAMABAD: A new arrangement with the management of Google/YouTube has brightened the chance of YouTube being unblocked in Pakistan. If certain conditions of the Google management are met, YouTube will be accessible as YouTube.com.pk, a local search engine. This was stated by Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunications Anusha Rehman at Senate Standing […]
ISLAMABAD: The government’s information technology authorities deserve spanking as they have not just terribly failed to address some burning issues facing the internet users but have also shifted the burden of blocking and monitoring grey traffic to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The terrorism-hit Pakistan requires of its intelligence agencies to focus on countering the internal […]
The issue of illegal SIMs has continued for months and as a consequence we have seen the frequent blocking of cellular services linked to security concerns including the use of mobile phones for illegal activities, terrorism included. It is believed that controlling the use of SIMs could prevent this. With past efforts to do so […]
For two days — November 21-22 — the International Movie Database (IMDb) website was blocked, to the considerable mystification of all, there being no official explanation for the block. The IMDb is one of the most popular websites on the internet, and ranked at number seven on the “Top 10 Must-know” entertainment websites. It is […]
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), to secure the auction of multi-billion dollars worth next generation mobile spectrum (3G) from legal proceeding and to ensure transparency in the entire process, has so far declined to entertain the requests of consultants seeking 5 per cent exemption in performance bank guarantee and many more benefits. Surprisingly, financial proposals […]
ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman on Friday instructed that all illegal calls coming from abroad should be blocked without any further notice. Chairing a review meeting of Grey Trafficking Monitoring attended by Dr Ismail Shah, Chairman, PTA, Akhlaq A Tarrar, Secretary IT, Azmat Ranjha, Additional Secretary IT, Anusha Rahman, directed that […]
PESHAWAR: Afghan SIMs with roaming facility in Pakistan – particularly in the tribal areas – pose a serious threat to security not only to the public, but also their representatives. Officials of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Home and Tribal Affairs department on Monday cited a recent example of tracing a number that turned out to be […]
ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology (IT) and Telecom Ms Anusha Rahman Khan has assured full government support and complete transparency to the prospective investors bidding for the upcoming spectrum auction of next generation mobile services in Pakistan. At Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) she assured PTA of her full support. She said the ministry […]
PESHAWAR: Over 40,000 cellphone SIM cards of Afghan telecom companies are operational in Pakistan and most of them are used in acts of terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and extortion. The information was placed before a Peshawar High Court bench by National Accountability Bureau, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday during the hearing into a case about unregistered […]
ISLAMABAD: Secretary IT Ikhlaq Tarrar has said the 3G system for cellular users will be launched in the first quarter of 2014. He said PTA will hire the services of an international consultant for the auction of 3G licences, which will be issued in a transparent manner in the first quarter of 2014. He said […]
Despite popular belief, it appears that Rehman Malik wasn’t the only one with a vendetta against communication services; it’s the whole of the PPP. The Sindh government’s decision to ban Skype, WhatsApp, Viber and Tango is just another illustration of the country’s ‘just-ban-it’ approach towards matters. They say that once you taste blood, it’s hard […]
Words cannot describe the foolishness of the latest move by the Sindh government to ‘curb’ terrorism. In an inexplicable move, the provincial government has suspended essential free cyber messaging applications such as Skype, Whatsapp, Tango and Viber for three months, stating security concerns as the reason behind this step. Many are shocked that the Sindh […]
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