Pakistan tops Google search for ‘MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’, 'Quran'

Monday, 2 January 2012

Pakistan is ranked number one in the world to search for the word ‘Muhammad (pbuh)’ and ‘Quran’.

A recent report shows words which were searched the most by Pakistan during the year 2011. The list of those words is as follows:

1. Muhammad (pbuh)

Pakistan tops the list among all countries in the world to search for the word ‘Muhammad (pbuh)’. Five Pakistani cities also top the first five spots.

2. Islam                    

Pakistan ranked as number three in the world to search the word ‘Islam’ on Google in 2011.

3. Quran

From all over the world, Pakistan was the number one location to search the word ‘Quran’ on Google – with Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore topping the first three spots respectively.

4. Education

Literacy rate still may not be that high in Pakistan, but it tops the list of countries searching for the word education’ on Google during 2011.

5. English

Pakistan is once again on top, with Karachi and Lahore also topping the list of cities that searched for the word ‘English’.

6. Scholarships

With Islamabad and Lahore on the fourth and fifth spot, Pakistan ranked on number five to search for the word ‘scholarships during the year 2011′.

Apart from the above mentioned results, Pakistan also ranked as top country that searched the term ‘Jobs’ and ‘Peace’, seventh for searching ‘Information Technology’ and second for searching ‘Physics’ and ‘Thesis’.

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Dirty Texting Banned By Pakistan Telecom Authority

Monday, 21 November 2011

Sexting is about to get a lot harder in Pakistan (no pun intended). The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has handed down a ban on about 1,600 terms and phrases it has deemed obscene, including the word "harder," for one.

Carriers were given the list on November 14 with a letter telling them they have seven days to block the words on their networks, or face legal action. 

Words on the list, which has been floating around on Twitter, run the gamut from "barf" to "Jesus Christ" to "back door" to "do me." 

"There are more than 1,600 words in the list including indecent language, expletives, swear words, slang, etc., which have to be filtered," an "official" at a one of the telecoms told the AFP. "The filtering is not good for the system and may degrade the quality of network services - plus it would be a great inconvenience to our subscribers if their SMS was not delivered due to the wrong choice of words."

The officials that compiled the list must have vivid imaginations. Published in both English and Urdu, it includes such words and phrases as "idiot," "monkey crotch," "athlete's foot," "damn," "deeper," "four twenty," "fornicate," "looser," and "go to hell," among others. There are also various double entendres included in the ban such as "beat your meat" or "flogging the dolphin."

Twitter users are lashing out against the ban under the hashtag #PTABannedList. 

As of Sunday, texts including the barred words were still being transmitted, the AFP said. However, the Guardian pointed out that according to its tests, the technology blocking the "offensive" texts might not be totally effective.

Pakistan's constitution guarantees freedom of speech, however the Guardian said the PTA told carriers that this right "was 'not unrestricted' under court rulings." It also said that telecoms are responsible to stop "obnoxious communication."

Going forward, the PTA will also require mobile companies to submit a monthly report on their implementation of the ban. 

The PTA has not commented publicly on the matter.

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