Pakistan News

Ufone Raises Salaries By 15 to 25 Percent is a post from: ProPakistani

Ufone Management has raised salaries of all Ufone employees by minimum of 15 percent across the board and 25 percent for those with outstanding performance during past year, told us sources in the company.

‘Ufone Management has been happy with the overall performance of the workforce and has decided to increase salaries by 15 percent at least”, said a top official while announcing the increment.

All other companies increased salaries last year except Zong that paid higher salaries to only promoted employees.

Its good on Ufone’s part that it hiked salaries in tight economic situation.

Ufone didn’t confirm this increment officially.

Related posts:

• Ufone Giving Out Bonuses on EID
• Wateen is Under Serious Financial Crisis
• People at Wateen Got Multiple Bonuses and Increments
• Mobilink & Ufone Charging 5 percent Additional Charges for Services as well
• Poll Results: Ufone Offers Best Call/SMS Rates

Adil Najam

I am as excited about Pakistan’s Test cricket victory against Australia as the next guy. Maybe even more.

But this huge (quarter page) advertisement on the front page of today’s (Sunday’s) The News is just plain bad taste.

That it is an ad for Pepsi – a major global brand, but also the official sponsor of Pakistan cricket (over-sized Pepsi logos are the most prominent thing on the official clothing of Pakistani cricketers), makes it only more so.

It was obviously made in a hurry. But I, for one, wish it had never been made. Whether Pepsi does so or not, let me apologize to Ricky Ponting. This, as they say, is just not cricket!

I do not know what was the thought behind this Ad?

If they thought this was funny; it is not. Only early today I had a chat with my 7-year old explaining to him that making fun of other people’s names is not funny, because we would not like it if others make fun of ours.

If they thought it was a commentary on Pakistan cricket and a show of support for Pakistani cricket; it is not. Despite the exciting victory we pulled off, no serious cricket fan will claim that Pakistan is the better team of the two. There is much that we should try to learn from Australia, even in this Test: their fight back till the very end, for example! The argument I often give to my 7-year old is also valid here: imagine what might be our reaction if Indian or Australian or British newspapers started carrying Ads like this about Pakistan each time we lost a game or something bad happened in Pakistan (and those, unfortunately, happen all too often!)?

But that is not the point. The point is that this Ad has no point. At least no redeeming point.

All it does is insult. And not just Ricky Ponting. It insults the brand integrity of Pepsi, and even more the brand identity of Pakistan cricket (since Pepsi is its official sponsor) and of Pakistan and Pakistanis in general (the green background is not accidental, nor is the bouncing kangaroo). It presents and projects us as a mean, insensitive, gloating, and petty people. Some of us may, indeed, be that. But I am not prepared to be ‘branded’ in that light; and certainly not by Pepsi.

Maybe I am over-reacting. And clearly this is not the of the problems we face. But sometimes it is the small things that pinch hardest, because they become metaphor for all the big things that are wrong. I just wish that whoever made and approved this Ad had read Mian Mohammad Bakhsh’s Saif-uk-Muluk:

Dushman marey tey khushi na kariye sajjna vi mar jaana
(Do not gloat when an enemy dies, your friends too will die)

Editor’s note: Here are some examples of bad advertising; of good advertising; and of advertising nostalgia.

Telenor 5MB Prepaid GPRS Bucket is a post from: ProPakistani

Finally, Telenor Pakistan has introduced prepaid GPRS bucket.

Price:

Get 5 MB quota for GPRS at Rs. 11.95 (including taxes)

How to Avail?

All telenor prepaid and djuice customers can avail this package by dialing *345*901# from their telenor prepaid.

Validity:

Validity of this package is till 12:00 AM in the night from the time you subscribe. Customers can activate package as many time he/she wants during the day.

Note:

• Package will not be renewed next day automatically by the network, customers have to reactivate by dialing through *345*901#
• To check remaing quota in GPRS bucket dial *999# (12paisas will be charged to checking reaming quota)
• Charging pulse in this GPRS package is not 64 KB, it is 1KB.

Without this GPRS package, for Telenor customers normal GPRS rates are Rs. 1+tax per 64 kb and 50 paisas+tax per 64 kb for Djuice din raat package.

Click here to get Telenor GPRS/MMS  settings

This GPRS package is better than of Ufone’s daily GPRS bucket, however still Zong is leader in providing several inexpensive GPRS packages.

Related posts:

• Warid Brings GPRS Bucket for PrePaid Users
• GPRS & MMS Setting For Telenor – Step by Step Tutorial
• Ufone Introduces SMS Bucket for Postpaid
• PTCL to Offer Mobile Buckets
• Telenor Persona Now Comes with SMS/Voice/GPRS Bundles

Pakistan has said it will be impossible for it to continue the dialogue with India if New Delhi does not pay importance to the Kashmir issue.

Amendments in Telecom Act Proposed is a post from: ProPakistani

National Assembly has accepted a bill to be presented in the house urging amendments in Pakistan Telecommunication Act 1996.

Bill has proposed amendments in 8 sections of Telecommunication Act, 1996 with 12 amendments in total.

The purpose of amendment is to introduce procedures for defining and tackling grey traffic. Moreover, PTA members are proposed to be called “Executive Members”, with one as the chairman of authority.

Authority will consist of 3 Executive Members and 5 non-executive members. All members will be appointed for a fixed term of 4 years with a chance for re-appointment. All members will be appointed with minimum experience of 15 years in Telecom, Finance or Legal domains, with 20 years of experience as exception for the chairman.

Bill proposed that Provincial Governments will nominate one non-executive member each, while fifth non-executive member will be nominated by Federal Government.

Bill says that Executive Members of authority will be paid the salary and be entitled to the privileges of MP-II while the chairman will be paid salary and be entitled to the privileges of MP-I.

Salary of non-executive members is proposed to be defined by authority itself.

Once passed from NA, Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization)(Amendment) Act, 2010 will be effective immediately.

Related posts:

• Mobilink Hails Decision on SMS Tax Withdrawal
• No Tax Cut for Telecom – Claims 'The News'
• 10 Percent Tax on Phone Bills Exceding Rs. 1000, Taken Back
• Moody’s Extends the Review on Mobilink’s Ratings
• Broadband Users to hit 5 Mln Mark in 3 years

New Delhi, July 25 : Parliament's Monsoon Session will commence on Monday and is likely to be stormy with the combined Opposition attacking the UPA Government on issues such as the price rise, the recently held Indo-Pakistan talks in Islamabad and others.

Rawalpindi, July 25: United Nations' cargo vessel "MV Aegean Glory", which was earlier detained by Indian authorities at the Kolkata port, has reached Karachi dockyard.

Intelligence reports have disclosed that police negligence was the reason behind Friday night's attack on two police stations in Lahore.

Share + Jul 25, 2010 4:19 am US/Eastern ISHTIAQ MAHSUD, Associated Press Writer DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan Unmanned U.S. aircraft fired four missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing five suspected militants in the second drone strike in as many days, intelligence officials said.

Rehman Malik Gets in Action Against Cellular Operators is a post from: ProPakistani

By Ahmed Rayyan

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik is in action against cellular operators and directed them to come up with a new business solution in 15 days to post SIM (Subscribers Identity Modules) on buyers address.

He expressed his concern over the selling of pre-activated SIMs in the market and warned operators stop doing it at any cost to avoid terrorist executing their activities in the country.

Mr Rehman was briefing the media following a meeting on the incidents of targeted killings with provincial top brass of the Sindh.

He asked all mobile phone companies to ensure SIM registration with Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) number of subscribers.

“I am telling all cellular operators stop selling out pre-activated SIMs and do make it mandatory for its buyers to get registered SIMs identity with National Registration Database Authority (Nadra),” he said.

I was told by my intelligence that 50 SIMs are issued on single CNIC; it should be stopped because SIMs could be bought with the registration of stolen CNIC, he added.

It merits mentioning here that Rehman Malik has issued similar statements before, which are never materialized.

Cellular Operators Viewpoint

Reacted strongly on his statement, cellular operators’ officials said selling SIMs is systematic process dealt by franchises and retailers of the company.

The selling SIMs on post is a unique idea to be considered as mere statement because it is an organized chain of business not to be taken place by postal services. The SIMs registration process is done through proper system established last year in conjunction with Nadra.

About Deadline

Government is crazy to issue deadlines to cellular operators because it utterly neglects the technical issues of the system. Recently provincial authorities issued 15-day deadline to all cellular operators, asking them to switch over their electricity supply to cell sites from solar energy.

A couple of days later, they had taken back their deadlines after subsequent intervention of Ministry of IT and Telecom on the request of operators. Mr Rehman Malik has earlier threatened many times to block SIMs used to send SMS for “negative purpose” (carrying insulting and funny jokes on Zardari). But PTA denied following his directives because it was beyond of their authority.

Related posts:

• Rehman Malik Denies Grey Telephony Allegations
• Rumor: SMS May Get Blocked this Week
• Rehman Malik Goes Online – Has got a website, Facebook Page and You Tube Channel Too
• SMS may get blocked in Pakistan: Rehman Malik
• PTCL Gets New Chairman