The United Nations said Thursday it has scaled back operations in Baluchistan province after a threat made by separatists who kidnapped an American aid worker earlier this year - adding to Pakistan's security woes.
India has been asking Pakistan to hand over 42 fugitives including Dawood Ibrahim but Islamabad has refused to cooperate, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told Rajya Sabha today.
Congratulations to Ali Zafar and Ayesha Fazli on their marriage that took place on Tuesday, 28th of July, 2009, reported Ali Zafar’s official forum.
Pop singer recently moved to Mobilink from Telenor, surrounded with plenty of discussion. Regardless of the conclusion of the discussion, this move proved to be a mark of good luck for Ali.
According to Awais Imran, Ayesha Fazli is daughter of Ali’s father’s best friend.
Congratulations Ali!
Copyright © 2009 ProPakistani.PKNearly two decades ago, an Islamic court sentenced Daniel Patrick Boyd to lose a hand and foot as punishment for robbing a bank in Pakistan's rough-and-tumble northwest.
The month of August has started and around the world Pakistanis are preparing to celebrate Independence Day. Its time to salute our forefathers who gave their lives to get a separate homeland for the Muslims of sub-continent.
Everyone has its own ways to celebrate Independence Day – only our spirits are same. We at ProPakistani thought how to celebrate Independence Day which can actually be of any benefit to the Pakistani Cyber Space.
After discussing with our team we came up with this decision that we will change our domain TLD from .COM to .PK. The reason is this that everyone who starts any kind of website/blog prefers .COM and thinks that it’s the best TLD even if the website/blog is related to Pakistan.
Only a handful of people use .PK TLD. Actually it’s an advantage to us that we have a separate TLD but we restrain from using it thinking that it will give us low rank on search engines and an overall negative effect. Also it costs more than .COM TLD. But face the truth we are Pakistanis and only we can promote .PK by using it. Only then it will get it’s own identity. We can contribute a little so it can get good reputation and become good in standards. Even if we loose some traffic because of this change it will be worth it.
It’s true that .COM has its own benefits but by working with .PK we all can help each other out and make web full of this TLD. So that’s it friends we have successfully transited our blog from .COM to .PK to contribute to the overall presence and betterment of Pakistani Cyber Space.
We also urge all the webmasters out their to try out .PK and use it as their primary TLD. From now you all can find us at ProPakistani.PK. It’s our way to celebrate Independence Day. Share your thoughts via comments.
A happy Independence Day in advance to all of you.
Note: All .Com links will be redirected automatically, RSS readers will remain in-tact.
Copyright © 2009 ProPakistani.com
Adil Najam
In a highly anticipated and awaited verdict, the Pakistan Supreme Court just declared the steps taken by then President Gen. Pervez Musharraf illegal. The details of the decision read out by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry are still filtering in and the implications of the decision are still not fully clear. I am still grappling with what this will actually mean in implementation and would love to hear from you what you think it will mean?
It is clear from the judgment that this does NOT change the legality of the current government or of the oath taken by President Zardari. But will it effect only the judiciary decisions (judges and how many) or does it have farther reaching impacts. My sense is, it will. But I am not fully clear just yet what these will be, and how. With this decision, it seems the Supreme Court and Chief Justice are back in the news big time and maybe more than just the rhetoric will heat up!
According to details (still coming in) in The News:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday declared the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional. The judgment came after the 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry completed the hearing of constitutional petitions regarding PCO judges, appointments of judges of higher judiciary and November 3, 2007 steps.
The Supreme Court in its short verdict declared the steps of November 3, 2007 taken by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional. Article 279 of the Constitution was violated on November 3, 2007, it said.
It termed as illegal and unconstitutional the sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the other higher judiciary as well as the appointment of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar as chief justice.
The oath taken by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be affected by the SC verdict, is said. All the appointments made in the higher judiciary of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar have been termed illegal. It termed as unconstitutional all the appointments of judges during November 3, 2007 to March 24, 2008. It said the strength of Supreme Court judges will remain 17. It declared unconstitutional all the steps taken by Pervez Musharraf during November 3, 2007 to December 15, 2007 including the increasing of number of superior judges through finance bill.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry announced the verdict.
The verdict said all the appointments of judges on and after November 3, 2007 under PCO were unconstitutional. The case of PCO judges will be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council, it said. The announcement of today’s verdict sent a wave of jubilation outside the Supreme Court and at all the bar associations. Sweets are being distributed as people and lawyers are chanting slogans in support of the judiciary. The 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry reserved the judgment after completing the hearing of the case and announced it after a delay of over four and a half hour.
Friday, July 31, 2009 at 11:19 am under Pakistan Breaking news Nov 3 steps illegal and unconstitutional, Supreme Court of Pakistan ISLAMABAD Pakistan: The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday declared the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by former president Pervez Musharraf as illegal and unconstitutional.
Virtual piracy isn’t just something that is popular in Pakistan; it is something that our society relies on for day to day work. From software piracy to video game piracy to movie and song piracy, it is present in Pakistan in all forms. The estimated percentage is 83%, which I fear has been highly under-estimated. For today’s article, I will solely be highlighting the pity state of software piracy in Pakistan.
Virtual Piracy is not regarded as being something wrong because it is entirely different from the basic idea of theft that we all have. It does not involve barging into somebody’s house or shop, taking them on gunpoint and robbing them off their valued possessions. What we need to understand is that developing computer software requires effort. Thousands of people spend thousands of hours working to develop these software that we use without any hesitation. If we just steal these software from these engineers, we are robbing them off their hard earned salaries and profits.
I once argued on the same principles with a school teacher. He replied that as these massive corporations have inflated the price of these software and it is totally understandable and justified for people to steal these software. This is like saying that it is okay to steal cars from a rich person’s house for transportation. How come such a person can teach virtuous deeds and truthfulness to kids?
The height of software piracy is visible in our government offices. All the computers have pirated versions of Microsoft Windows and all documents are prepared on pirated versions of Microsoft Office. It is not just our government, these two software represent the highest pirated software in the world, and most of us carry the burden of theft with us. The large number of IT companies and Software houses and advertising firms operating in Pakistan are largely using pirated software. How can a person defend earning money by working on pirated software? Carrying out commercial acts on pirated software is the height of unethical behaviour.
Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw and all anti-virus software represent the small number of software that we download or buy illegally and use without hesitation. Educational institutes ask students to obtain illegal copies rather than distributing student licences. Hardly has any society shown such nonchalant behaviour to theft.
What can be done to stop this theft is to encourage people to adopt free and open source software. Windows is not the only Operating System one can rely on. Linux presents us with a very suitable alternative. It is easy to use, readily available, free of cost and above all more secure. Most utility software are also available for use on Linux and it is growing by the day.
As for office documents, OpenOffice.org is not just the best alternative, it is nearly as good as Microsoft’s product. It is compliant with the OpenDocument format and Microsoft’s formats as well. It has a word processer, a spreadsheet application, an application to prepare presentations and other utilities as well.
Let me give a few examples. The French Gendarmerie switched 70,000 systems to OpenOffice in 2005. Vietnam’s Department of Education moved its 20,000 computer systems to OpenOffice. The Postal Service of South Korea moved its 4748 desktop systems to Linux in 2005 saving 680,000 Euros. The Singapore Ministry of Defence uses OpenOffice on 5,000 desktops. The Election Commission of India is using OpenOffice, so does the Supreme Court of India and local language versions have been distributed among the population in millions.
City Councils of Berlin, Birmingham, Prague, Bristol, Munich and Vienna, Finnish Department of Justice, French National Assembly and Bangkok Airways represent a minuscule sample of the organizations and governments that have shifted to OpenOffice and some have adopted Linux as well. These organizations saved huge costs of adopting commercial proprietary software and by no means have they committed any acts of unauthorized copying of computer software.
The small computer shops opened in every nook and corner of the country are making large profits from these illegal acts as well. The labourer who works all day, the carpenter and the forger at least earn their money through legitimate and halal means. These small shops do not benefit the society in any way. I am also amazed at the fact that people think that there are geniuses sitting in Karachi, who have made these software available to them.
For their sake, I would like to inform them that the online “warez scene” comprises groups of people competing with each other in reverse engineering skills, trying to break software licenses as fast as they can. They are not doing it for any commercial purposes. Imperial Market, Hafeez Centre, Rainbow Centre and the hubs where people download these cracked versions, burn them onto a Rs. 10 DVD and sell them for Rs. 100. Such a person does not have a right to earn money in any society.
When Microsft Pakistan, in collaboration with the FIA Cyber Crime Division, carried out raids and removed these software from the racks of such shops, the protest banner read, “We strongly protest against Microsft’s brutal acts”. Truly said, “ulta chor kotwal to dantay”. The Intellectual Property Organization of Pakistan (IPO) is sleeping. In a society where there is nobody to protect intellectual rights, Ingenuity, Research and Development can never be promoted because the original idea will hardly bring any profit.
The solution lies with Free and Open Source Software. Nevertheless, Microsoft can reach an agreement with the government, whereby the people are encouraged to buy proprietary software instead of pirating them. This can only be achieved if Microsoft sells these software at rates affordable to the average consumer instead of the international rates. Microsoft is already selling software at a much discounted rate in Far East Asia and it can do the same here. In my opinion, Rs. 250 would not be harsh for the Home Edition of Microsoft Windows, and Rs. 200 for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
If we do not defend the intellectual rights of organizations or individuals, we will never be able to produce an internationally acclaimed product. We will remain a labour house, rather than becoming an industrial power. All of us have become thieves and dacoits, without most realizing what they have done. We have to change for the better.
P.S. This document was prepared on OpenOffice Writer 3.1.0. Download it here
Copyright © 2009 ProPakistani.com
Shah Kamal, a resident of Kharochhan, 150 kilometer south of Karachi has derived a way to produce electricity, initially for his own home and then for 100 homes of his small island.
Earlier this island had no electricity supply, and fishermen felt that Government of Pakistan is not well placed to provide electricity – hence, they took the initiative and installed 5 turbines to lit 100 homes with 2 bulbs each.
Pakistan has huge potential available throughout the country for generating wind energy. Its need of the hour to work on alternate and private energy resources to meet our energy demands.
For complete details visit AFP’s this story
Copyright © 2009 ProPakistani.comWe have plenty of Pakistani websites that host Talk Shows and other TV programmes on their servers to serve their visitors. The idea was actually liked when ex-President Musharraf banned many of news channels in his regime, and internet became only source of electronic information.
One of such website has more than 2 years of TV programmes archives from different TV channels. I didn’t get any reply when I asked the admin (through their Contact Us form) about the legal status of the videos he/she /they are hosting.
When I asked Geo TV’s distribution department in Lahore and Karachi, first they said they even don’t know if someone is copying their videos and putting on his/her website. When I asked, okay let’s suppose if someone is showing your talk shows (without ads in it), how would be your reaction “Of course it’s illegal, we never allowed anyone copy our videos – they are doing so without rights”
I do agree that these websites are very beneficial, as lot of internet users watch their favorite Talk Show at their own convenience of time. But question remains the same, if providing comfort change the legal status of content? And above all, these websites charge their visitors to view TV Shows.
By the way, we all are familiar with lawsuits that YouTube faced due to violation of copyrights for the videos it is hosting.
Copyright © 2009 ProPakistani.com
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