Category: Tech

The Current’s tech news keeps you upto date with news of new gadgets, tech updates, information about tech startups and technology reviews.

  • Pakistan’s IT exports surge to $1.2 billion in FY2019-20

    Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) export remittances have surged by 23.71% ($1.230 billion) in financial year (FY) 2019-2020.

    The numbers were revealed in a performance report released by the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) on Friday.

    According to FY2018-2019, the remittances were $994.848 million and they have now increased to $1.230 billion in FY2019-2020

    Mr Syed Aminul Haq, Federal Minister for IT & Telecommunications (MOIT), said that they have targeted and is working towards increasing these export numbers up to $5 billion in the next three years.

    He further said that under the vision of Digital Pakistan, we should promote and support all IT-related projects and connect Pakistan to the digital world.

    The ministry’s spokesperson also mentioned that 6,000 Pakistan-based IT companies were providing IT products and services to people in over 100 countries.

    Pakistani IT companies have been providing products and services to some of the world’s largest companies. The country has been ranked as the third most popular country for freelancing in the world.

    “The Information and Communications Technology industry of our country has seen high achievements in the past few years. Pakistan is surely heading in the right direction in terms of achieving that $5 billion revenue goal for the industry by the year 2024,” said the spokesperson.

  • People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    People want Waqar Zaka to be PM after court orders to lift PUBG ban

    With the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordering Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to immediately lift the ban imposed on popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Pakistanis are taking to social media to praise VJ-turned-television host Waqar Zaka’s efforts in this regard and seek his election as the country’s prime minister (PM).

    Pakistan’s ban on PUBG had been challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) by Zaka who had taken to social media to express his outrage as well as “expose” some shady conspiracy theories behind the ban.

    According to the YouTuber, the ban on PUBG, which the authorities said had come after PTA received “numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it was stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of children”, was “actually to prevent Pakistani youth from excelling in e-sports”.

    “These are the same people who don’t want our children to become famous around the world, who don’t want our country to generate revenue online, who want to send out a message to the e-sports providers around the world to prevent them from setting up their business here – reason why YouTube never did. These people will not allow us to evolve, a digital revolution needs to be brought,” Zaka had said in a video message.

    With the popular television personality continuing to raise his voice against the ban and separately the IHC on Friday finally ordering PTA to lift it, here’s what people have to say as ‘#ThankYouWaqarZaka’ trends on Twitter in Pakistan.

    https://twitter.com/Qasim6tweets/status/1286562678362779648

    On June 23, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Zulfiqar Hameed had recommended a ban on the online game.

    The CCPO had taken up the matter with the higher authorities through a letter referring to the death by suicide of a teenage boy, who was an ardent player of the game. It had led to a temporary ban on the game, which was followed by a PTA statement on Thursday, according to which the ban was to stay in place.

  • KP launches e-challan system in Bajaur

    KP launches e-challan system in Bajaur

    In Bajaur district of erstwhile Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) now merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the provincial government has introduced e-challan system to curb traffic violations.

    Reportedly, the system has been in practice since July 16 and more than 120 e-challans have already been served. 

    For now, eight traffic police officials are trained to handle the new system and they are assigned duties across Bajaur district. 

    The traffic wardens think that the new system is highly efficient, safe and flawless. However, many people are not familiar with it. Police officials are also working to spread awareness about the new system. 

    According to the district police officer (DPO) of Bajaur district, e-challan system enforcement in the area is an effort made to bring the dream of a digital Pakistan a step closer to its materialisation.”

    “This facility is ultimately for the convenience of the masses as they won’t have to visit a bank and wait in long queues to deposit challans. Now everything can be done digitally, which would save time and energy.”

  • Punjab University set to establish climate research lab as HEC approves Rs100 million funds

    Lahore’s Punjab University (PU) is going to set up a climate research laboratory to look into accelerating climatic changes in the country, for which the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved Rs100 million funding.

    As per the details, the lab will run under the supervision of Department of Space Science Director Ziaul Haq while Sahida Adeela Batool will act as the co-principal investigator along with faculty members such as Khalid Mehmood and Salman Tariq.

    Ziaul Haq explained that “climatic change can trigger social inequalities and also increase social factors that lead to conflicts, displacement, changes in migration pattern and instability in the country”.

    “If proper measures aren’t taken in time, extreme weather events like temperature rise, flooding, drought, yield reduction, the spread of infectious diseases, deforestation and water scarcity will hit Pakistan.”

    He further explained that “the purpose of establishing the lab is because Pakistan does not possess high technical, professional and financial capacity to adapt, prevent or lessen the adverse impacts of climate change”.

    Satellite data and GIS analysis can provide cheap easy to adopt alternatives for the locals to adapt so that climatic changes can be prevented in due time.

  • Govt to automate petroleum sector for end to artificial shortages

    Govt to automate petroleum sector for end to artificial shortages

    The Petroleum Division has tasked energy and technology experts to carry out a technical assessment for the automation of the petroleum sector.

    With the help of technology, an automation system will be created that will record real-time data of petroleum products’ daily sales.

    The structured and organised real-time data will also help streamline the fuel supply countrywide which would make oil-sector self-sufficient, and save billions on its annual petroleum import bill.

    The government of Pakistan is working on a strategy to revamp the oil and gas sector of the country.

    The primary function is to supply uninterrupted fuel across Pakistan by recording daily sales of oil depots and petrol pumps along with increasing the technical and professional capacity of the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA).

    According to the officials of the Petroleum Division, they have drafted a bill that will legally bind oil depots and petrol pumps to allow the government to record daily sales once signed into law.

    Oil depots and petrol pumps will have no choice but to follow as in case of refusal, OGRA would be legally authorised to seal the disputing depots and pumps and cancel their licences.

    “The government will not approve the attitude of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) from now on and will put an end to the issue of artificial fuel shortage once and for all,” an official said.

  • Final warning to TikTok as PTA plans to ban it over vulgar content

    Final warning to TikTok as PTA plans to ban it over vulgar content

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a final warning to popular Chinese social networking app TikTok over obscene and immoral content as it banned live streaming application Bigo over similar concerns raised by the general public.

    TikTok allows users to make video clips, lip sync to songs and create short videos, and has time and again been criticised over the quality of content amid unparallel popularity among Pakistanis.

    Last week, a civil miscellaneous application was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) demanding an immediate ban on TikTok, Dawn reported.

    The petitioner said the app was a “great mischief of modern times” and had become a source of spreading pornography for the sake of fame and ratings on social media.

    According to a statement released by the PTA late on Monday night, complaints were received from different segments of society against immoral, obscene and vulgar content on social media applications particularly TikTok and Bigo.

    “PTA had issued necessary notices to the aforementioned social media companies under law to moderate the socialisation and content within legal and moral limits, in accordance with the laws of the country,” the statement said.

    The PTA said the response of these companies was “not satisfactory”.

    “Therefore, in exercise of its powers under PECA, the PTA has decided to immediately block Bigo and issue a final warning to TikTok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application,” the statement said.

  • Mobile phone imports nearly double in last 12 months

    Mobile phone imports nearly double in last 12 months

    Mobile phone imports have increased by 81.32 per cent as compared to the last fiscal year (July-June) 2019-20.

    The imports reached $1.369 billion compared to $755.548 million during the same period last year, according to the latest report released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    Telecom experts are linking the phenomenal increase in import to the implementation of Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS).

    Mobile phone imports increased 300 per cent in June 2020 as compared to $57.736 million imports of June 2019.

    Overall telecom imports saw an increase of 34 per cent during July-June (2019-20) if compared to the same period of last year.

    Total imports were recorded at $1.86 billion when compared to $1.37 billion in July-June (2018-19), while registering 71.62 per cent growth in June 2020.

    The figures stood at $272.576 million in June 2020 as compared to $158.93 million during May 2020.

    Other telecom apparatus imports witnessed a decline of over 21.36 per cent in July-June (2019-20) as they stood at $490.754 million against $624.017 million during the same period last year.

    When compared to May 2020, other telecom apparatus imports registered a 13.41 per cent decline in June as they were $41.453 million as compared to $47.871 million in May 2020.

  • Only 10% of IT graduates in Pakistan are employable: Gallup

    Only 10% of IT graduates in Pakistan are employable: Gallup

    According to a recent study conducted by Gallup, which is the country’s leading social research lab, software houses hire only 10 per cent of the graduates from lower-tier universities. The software houses with low-end IT services employ only 50 per cent of such graduates.

    Research shows that Pakistan’s top universities generate 25,000 IT graduates, but only 5,000 get employed at top local IT companies. The other graduates simply do not meet the selection criteria as a result of their outdated education and lack of relevant skills.

    Furthermore, there is a skill gap between graduates of high-tier and low-tier universities. The gap is widening due to the lack of nationwide IT skills training. The lack of fluency in communication has also been identified as a problem due to the lack of qualified teachers and modern curriculum.

    “There is a need for Pakistan to focus on human capital related to technological innovations” states the research. The best way to boost employability, according to Gallup, is to impart skills upon graduates that are required by the IT industry and digital economy.

    The IT Ministry is aware of it and thus been working on setting up an authority to boost the quality of IT curriculums. The hope is that across Pakistan, IT education can be brought up to global standards.

  • EU arrests 746 organised criminals: murderers, assassins, money launders, hitman

    EU arrests 746 organised criminals: murderers, assassins, money launders, hitman

    European Union (EU) police agency, Europol, has arrested at least 746 criminals after decrypting a phone network of 60,000 organised criminals, including murderers, cartels, hitmen, assassins and money launders.

    French police first hacked the network of EncroChat by deploying a “technical device” to penetrate so that they could read millions of messages “over the shoulders” of suspects as they communicated with custom-made devices.

    “This is an unprecedented look into the heart of organised crime groups that led us to foil violent attacks, corruption, attempted murders and large-scale drug transports,” said Wil Van Gemert, deputy director of Europol, during a press conference in The Hague.

    According to Van Den Berg, chief constable of the Dutch police’s central unit, some of the encrypted messages were so worrying that it went “far beyond the authorities’ imagination”.

    In 2017, French authorities launched an investigation after finding that EncroChat phones were regularly found in operations of criminal groups and the company was operating from servers in France.

    EncroChat sells customised Android handsets with GPS, camera and microphone functionalities removed. These devices are loaded with encrypted messaging apps as well as a secured secondary operating system, in addition to Android.

    The phones also come with a self-destruct feature that wipes the devices after a PIN code is entered.

    EncroChat had in June sent a message to its estimated 60,000 users to throw away their 1,000 euro devices as its servers had been “seized illegally by government entities”. The company has also been shut down.

    EncroChat had customers in 140 countries globally. More than 90 per cent of EncroChat clients were linked to organised crime as between 50,000 to 60,000 of the phones were being used by hardened criminals.

    The Dutch police have busted 19 crystal meth labs, seized 10 tonnes of cocaine and thousands of kilos of crystal meth, said Andy Kraagm, head of Dutch police’s central investigation division at the press conference.

    After this massive operation, some users are throwing away their phones; some have gone offline completely while others are attempting to flee their countries.

  • Marvel to feature Muslim-Pakistani superhero Kamala Khan in blockbuster Avengers game

    Marvel to feature Muslim-Pakistani superhero Kamala Khan in blockbuster Avengers game

    Kamala Khan is all set to be a part of Marvel’s blockbuster gaming roster joining superheroes like Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America. Khan is a Muslim-American teenager of Pakistani heritage, who has shape-shifting abilities.

    According to BBC, Marvel’s Avengers are assembling again, not for a movie, but for a blockbuster video game. The game’s publisher, Square Enix announced that Marvel Avengers would include Kamala Khan as one of its main playable characters and make her central to the plot.

    Kamala Khan was co-created by Marvel editor and director Sana Amanat in 2014. Sana Amanat is a Muslim-American herself, she wanted to create a character young girls of similar background could identify with and look up to.

    Sana Amanat

    Maria Afsar, a 25 years old gamer said, “When I saw the announcement she is going to be in the game and of the main characters, I just thought I’ve literally been waiting for something like this for my whole life. I saw nothing like this when I was young.”

    Kamala Khan will be featured as Ms Marvel Moniker. Ms Marvel Moniker has been used by several white characters in Marvel comic books since 1976, including Sharon Ventura and Dr Karlo Sofen.

    In 2014, readers were introduced to Kamala Khan, a 16-years-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. She has shapeshifting abilities and she happens to be a fan-girl of the Avengers.

    Making history along the way, she became the Marvel’s first Muslims character to lead her own comic books series.