Pakistan’s list of blocked websites swells

KARACHI: A list of over 370 websites that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has asked ISPs to block was obtained by The Express Tribune, while PTA spokesperson Khurram Mehran has confirmed that the total number of blocked sites has reached 1,000.

As of Friday, the list contains addresses of 242 proxy servers used to bypass banned websites, as well as at least two Twitter accounts, several news stories (including those published by Fox News and Washington Post) and multiple blogs (hosted by Blogger and WordPress), nine Wikipedia pages and 15 Google Image results. Additionally, some Flickr accounts are also included in the list.

Youm-e-Takbeer, and a revelation

ISLAMABAD: As the nation marks Youm-e-Takbeer to commemorate the conduction of nuclear tests, PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif revealed Friday that the then US president had offered him a five billion dollar package for Pakistan to reverse the decision.

Addressing his party workers in Lahore on the occasion, Sharif said Pakistan faced immense pressure from world community before and after the tests.

Khan declared a free man

LAHORE: Lahore High Court declared today Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan a free man and remarked that his movements cannot be restricted.

The LHC announced its judgement regarding movements of Dr Khan Friday. Dr Khan had challenged restrictions on his movements.

Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, Counsel for Dr Khan, had argued during previous hearings that the government was misinterpreting the situation and continued to illegally restrain Dr Khan’s freedom of movement under the garb of security in spite of the orders passed by the court according to which Dr Khan’s freedom of movement would not be restricted.

He further submitted that the government was relying on an illegal document called Annex A to unilaterally impose security on Dr Khan.

Zardari falsely accused of drug trafficking

ISLAMABAD: The first ever written request from Pakistan’s attorney-general to his Swiss counterpart, dated February 12, 1998 accused Asif Ali Zardari of drug trafficking and not money laundering.

Neither the Sharif government nor the succeeding military government of Musharraf could prove these charges in Pakistani courts against Zardari. Therefore, the Swiss authorities were left with no choice but to ignore the request.

UN official seeks end of CIA drone strikes

WASHINGTON: A senior official of the United Nations said the life and death power of drones should be entrusted to regular armed forces, not intelligence agencies, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

Philip Alston is expected to call on the United States next week to stop CIA drone strikes against people suspected of belonging to al Qaeda.

Afridi to impose dressing room discipline

KARACHI: Pakistan’s newly-appointed Test and One-Day International (ODI) captain Shahid Afridi has vowed to impose strict discipline in the dressing room in order to avoid the recurrence of the unwanted incidents that took place during Pakistan’s tour of Australia at the end of last year.

“I know some players, who were involved in breaching the code of conduct on the last tour, may return but this is their last chance to revive their career,” Afridi told The Express Tribune while dispelling the impression that, with the return of former captains

VAT will reduce tax rate for telecom companies

ISLAMABAD: The General Sales Tax of 19.5 per cent for telecom companies is higher than any other sector and introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) will reduce this rate and help companies focus on other areas of investment, said a Telenor official.

A five-member delegation of Telenor, led by its Chairman Harald Norvik, called on Board of Investment (BoI) Chairman Saleem H Mandviwala to discuss various issues regarding the taxation structure.

Attabad lake swallows Shishkat

GILGIT: Water from the Attabad lake has completely submerged Lower Shishkat and partially flooded Gilmat, reports indicated on Tuesday.

However, the speed at which the lake’s water level was rising has slowed down because the lake is expanding upstream now, said Assistant Commissioner Hunza, Zamir Abbas. He said the water is still 8.4 feet short of the spillway, meaning that it will be another four days before water begins to stream out of the lake.

A new Facebook for Muslims?

KARACHI: The ongoing ban of Facebook in Pakistan has prompted some entrepreneurs to jump at the opportunity with the creation of an alternative social networking site, Pakfacebook.com.

Launched on May 19, the ‘kosher’ alternative to Facebook has become the 488th most active site in Pakistan according to search analytics website Alexa.