Another good article by Jawed Chaudry. http://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1101463550&Issue=NP_LHE&Date=20120302  

As Reported by The Economic Times

The reported move by the Pakistan government to phase out major restrictions on trade with India by switching to the negative list, and doing away with that too by the end of the year, is wholly welcome. Normalising trade relations with India will help establish a template of wider normalization of mutual ties.

An indication of deep-rooted animosities and suspicions which have stymied that goal can be seen in the opposition from quarters within Pakistan to Islamabad’s declared – and logical – aim of granting India the World Trade Organization-compliant Most Favoured Nation status next year.

But the arrangement to separate commerce from thornier issues like Kashmir and Pakistan’s actions against those accused of terror attacks against India can lay a foundation for minimising mutual distrust. For New Delhi, this would be in keeping with the idea of engaging various power centres in Pakistan, given the fractured power structure in that country.

While being perfectly aware that policy on India, like in other areas deemed to be ‘strategic’ by the military, is mostly determined by the latter, the aim should be to defang and isolate hardline elements by positing the real and tangible benefits enhanced mutual trade can offer Pakistan.

And there certainly is ample scope to do that: direct Indo-Pak trade is less than 1% of their global trade; annual mutual trade was around $2.7 billion through March 2011, which, despite being up 50% from the previous year is still measly compared to, say, India’s $60 billion annual trade with China or the potential.

But a beginning has been made with Pakistani industry backing the new move, which, in turn, can help allay fears that Indian goods will swamp Pakistani markets. What will happen is the ending of trade routed through third countries (mostly Dubai).

Legitimate mutual trade can lead to both countries envisaging cooperation in a wider trading entity comprising Afghanistan and Central Asia, with obvious benefits for regional stability. This might sound utopian for now, but mutually-beneficial commerce does have a way of tempering hostilities.

Filed under: Afghanistan, China, Desi, India, Pakistan, Peace Tagged: Afghanistan, China, Dubai, India, India Pakistan Trade, MFN, Most Favored Nation, Pakistan, World Trade Organization

Difa-e-Pakistan is an Urdu word meaning Defense of Pakistan. Difa-e-Pakistan Council means a council willing to/responsible for defending Pakistan. The semantics dictate that the said council should comprise of representatives of the armed forces, the para-military forces, domestic law enforcement agencies, defense ministry and foreign ministry. In fact, the esteemed council that has come to the fore recently consists of none of the above. In the words of the journalist Ejaz Haider, it’s a “circus”.
Much has been written about this mysterious group over the last few weeks by people much more well-read and experienced than myself, thus I would restrict myself to a basic understanding of this group and the online presence of DPC.

The website of DPC lists 36 parties as part of the council. It includes single-digit member parties like Muslim League Zia, Mohsinan e Pakistan, suspicious-named organizations like Pakistan Water Movement, Tehreek e Ittehad, Christian Community( of where?), Sikh Community,  Hindu Community Lahore and notorious people like a certain General® Hameed Gul, Hafiz Saeed, Malik Ishaq, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman Khalil, Ahmad Ludhyanwi and last but not the least, representative of Imran Khan, Chaudary Ijaz.
General Hameed Gul, a former spymaster of Pakistan, was responsible for forming IJI(Islami Jamhuri Ittehad-Islamic democratic front) a similar group of religious organizations in 1988 to compete against Pakistan Peoples Party, turned against U.S when the funding for ISI was stopped, was an architect of starting insurgency in Occupied Kashmir, was removed from his position by Benazir Bhutto in 1989. Hafiz Saeed was a teacher of Islamic Studies at University of Engineering and Technology in the 1980s when he and a fellow Professor Zaffar Iqbal formed a new organization which came to be known as Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the pious). It was directly funded by Saudi money and collected donations across Pakistan. It was mainly involved in sending fighters trained by them to Kashmir for targeting Indian Military personnel and cantonments. It was declared a Terrorist Organization by both the United States and United Nations. Most Recently it was involved in the November 2008 Attacks on Mumbai.

Malik Ishaq is the leader and founder of Al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. He remained in jail for 14 years facing a number of cases at the antiterrorism court in Lahore charging him with hundreds of murders. He was released from Jail on July 15 because “evidence against him gradually decayed and disappeared”. Molana Fazl ur Rehman Khaleel is a founder of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen(HuM) and current leader of Ansar-ul-Umma, which is accused of being a front organization of the banned HuM. Khalil was a signatory of Osama bin Laden’s 1998 fatwa called the International Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Regarding the sudden arrival of this bunch, investigative journalist Mujahid Hussain wrote, “In November 2011, the ISI Chief asked the Lashkar e Taiba and Jaish e Mohammad to speed up their campaign against India and to mobilize Islamists across the country on the platform of Difa e Pakistan, so that a clear signal could be sent to the international community. Fellow travelers such as Shaikh Rasheed and Hamid Gull were reactivated. A real estate tycoon in Islamabad and some rich businessmen of Karachi were asked to offer inducements. Also, The Sunni Tehreek is being propped up by the ISI as a fully fledged political party and has been tasked to garner the Barelvi vote.”

Traditionally, the parties that make up this pot-pourri are not known to be very modern or having an Internet presence. The interesting thing is that the council as a whole is more efficient in its online presence than the sum of all its constituents combined. This paradigm shift can be witnessed as DPC has its own website where all the speeches from their rallies are available and latest news related to their concerning issues are updated continuously, they have their own facebook page with 1459 Likes(till now) and a twitter account with 306 followers.
All of this fanfare is despite the fact that they are a “banned” organization(If you believe Interior Minister Rehman Malik).

The Facebook page of Difa e Pakistan Council tells us that
“Difa-e-Pakistan Council is an Umbrella Organization of more than 40 Religious and Political Organizations destined for the Defense of Pakistan and envisions the great nation as the Fortress of Islam.” It also informs us that “DPC Does not endorse the understandings and manifestos of organizations and entities that come under the umbrella of DPC. “Difa-e-Pakistan” is a single point cause to defend Pakistan by all threats it faces internally and externally.”

Upon a little digging, it is visible that the bigwigs of the council are not much involved in the Internet crusade rather it is a new batch of “Jihadis” or Internet warriors that are controlling the accounts of the council online. One particular ally is the hyper-nationalist website “Pakistan ka Khuda Hafiz”(Translation:- May God Protect Pakistan). The people behind PKKH website are Ahmad Qureshi, Shireen Mazari, Gen Hameed Gul and Maria Butt(fashion designer and recent convert to this ideology courtesy a Mr. Zaid Hamid). Ahmad Qureshi, Shireen Mazari and Zaid Hamid share a particular vision about Pakistan. They are fiercely Anti-American, Anti-India, Pro-Khilafat(Caliphate), Pro-Taliban and use the jargon of Islam to lure people towards their own agendas. They do not like democracy or politicians as a whole, and harbor sympathy towards Pakistan Army. They are known to be stooges of Military establishment and have always advocated a military solution to all problems.  Just to keep things in perspective, the following words were posted by “Syed Zaid Zaman Hamid [Official]” page very recently, explaining their philosophy in full,
“If the politicians are for sale and hostile powers are ready to buy them, to hell with this democracy. Let the country be ruled by a Benevolent dictator on the model of Khilafat e Rashida! Till that time, army and ISI must make sure that these treacherous politicians do not sell the country to hostile powers”.
Thus, while the Jalsas(meetings/processions) of  DPC are being filled by banned militant organizations, the Internet front is being held by Neo-Jihadis who are followers of Zaid Hamid, completing an “unholy alliance”. They oppose the MFN-status being awarded to India(without an iota of understanding about the WTO) and have a jingoistic attitude towards the rest of the world.

For the record, this is not the first time that establishment-backed forces have been joined together at a platform. It has happened previously in the 1970 elections, in the aforementioned 1990 elections when IJI was formed and in the wake of 9/11 when a similar-sounding “Afghan Defense Council” was formed which paved the way to formation of MMA(Mutahidda Majlis e Amal) in 2002.

The irony of this “internet war” is that most of the constituent parties have strong views about “Pictures” being Un-Islamic and they have, in the past, opposed Television and Radio, even Loudspeakers. The hypocrisy of it all cannot be ignored when the same people use loudspeakers all the time, to deliver hate-filled sermons, use Television for their own propaganda and now they have resorted to the internet, to attract the younger generation. These people are against the tenet of “Freedom of Speech” but they themselves are abusing their freedom of speech to spew hatred and bigotry. The focus of their efforts is to reach out to the Urban Middle class population of Pakistan which has got no clue about their own identity courtesy a paradox that is our “Religious Nation State”. Textbooks of Pakistan are filled with lies that cause narrowing of young minds from an early age, hatred against other religions is evident and ideologies are thrust upon immature minds resulting in a paranoid mental state. The textbooks re-enforce the image of this country not as envisioned by Jinnah but the one envisioned by General Zia(who can be considered Godfather of all the parties that today constitute DPC).

All hope, though, is not lost regarding the situation in Pakistan. The fact that almost 6 million Pakistanis using Facebook and only about 1400 like the DPC page and only about 1 lac people like the Official Zaid Hamid Page (where he has tried to re-invent himself as Syed) offers hope to the moderate factions of the society.  It is the responsibility of the moderate elements of civil society to coalesce and try to control these elements from going out of control by raising awareness and educating people. People should be educated about their role in a democracy. Efforts such as being done by Centre for Civic Education, PILDAT, Pakistan Youth Alliance, Teach for Pakistan and Youth Parliaments should be highlighted. Media has to play a very important role in this regard as well. They have to give equal representation to progressive forces and avoid excessive coverage of the trouble-makers. Government of Pakistan should also play its role by introducing necessary changes in the curricula (as has been proposed by SDPI) and taking effective measures against the “banned” organizations. This is a long war and it is not going to be easy.

Lately, we have been in the throes of a very contagious throat infection, which brought down all the three kids one-by-one over the last two weeks. The baby, last one to get ill, is now on the mend, alhamdolillah. Needless to say, I did not do much besides tending to the kids, all this time. However, I took time today to finish this dress. I had knitted the yoke before the illness, using a partial Maizy ball I had in my stash. I did not use any pattern. I paired it up with matching cotton to make a light, summer dress. Spring is upon us, here in Islamabad. The sunlight has started to feel hot and scorching rather than warm and comforting.

In other craft news, I am also on a knitting spree since yesterday, with one completed sock and a baby sweater started. More to come soon, inshaAllah.

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Pakistan could face damaging consequences if it goes ahead with the proposed Iran-Pakistan pipeline project.

 ”We have been very clear in pointing out the consequences of building this pipeline,” Clinton said while addressing the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations in Washington.

Clinton’s remarks came in

The electoral rolls can now be verfied on SMS. The inaugration cermony of the service took place in ECP secretarist in Islamabad today.

By using this service, the eligible voters would be able to send Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) number on 8300 and in response, the voter would get the voting details like CNIC No., Electoral Area name, Block Code, Tehsil/District and Serial Number.

In order to protect the privacy of a voter, the name, parentage and home address would not be shown in the SMS.

This hi-tech technology has got various advantages like voter could get all the information regarding his/her vote within seconds. This service would minimize the possibility of errors in the Final Electoral Rolls. Apart from the display centres, this service could be considered as Virtual Display Centres where the voters sitting anywhere in the country, be able to check his/her vote’s detail.

Proecure

• Simply send your CNIC (without ‘-’ dashes) to 8300
• Example: Send “42201XXXXXXX1” to 8300

The reply you receive will include:

• Your CNIC Number
• Electoral Area
• Block Code
• Serial Number

SMS Charges of Rs. 2+ tax apply.

Now it is the duty of every responsible citizen/eligible voter to use this state-of-the-art mobile technology by verifying his/her voting information to ensure credible, transparent and error-free Electoral Rolls.  In case of any issue, the concerned should reach their district election commissioner to get his/her details corrected.

Out of all the problems we faceas a country, Energy seems to be the one that annoys us all the most. It’s notthat other issues are not important or are somehow less annoying; it is justthat every single person in Pakistan uses energy in one form or another andhence is directly affected by it at a very personal level. So last week when Iwas invited as an expert delegate to the PML N’s energy conference I waspleasantly surprised that our political parties had finally started showingsigns of maturity and started talking issues.

The conference itself was anunusually serious affair where actual experts sat through a grueling 6 hourdiscussion session on the draft PML N Energy Plan. It was for the first time Ihave seen an actual alternative workable policy being presented and discussedby a political party with stakeholders such as academia, power producers andenergy experts. All in all it was a great platform and serious discussion tookplace that can potentially lead to a solid energy strategy. I was later toldthat PTI was holding an energy conference of its own and would be presentingtheir draft plan as well. I am yet to see the detailed PTI draft plan, but the vision document they have floated is pretty weak given their big talk and prep.

Let me start off by saying that,it is nice to see our political parties finally getting their acts together andactually presenting policies instead of talking about presenting policies. Eventhough I would have personally preferred the perspective economic plans to beput forward first but a start on an issue like energy strategy seems to bepretty good too. This is a national issue and we need all the alternativepolicies we can get to finally craft a solid national policy and in that regardpolitical parties putting forward their workable strategies is something thepeople have longed for. 

• ReplacingThermal Power Fuel:  Pakistanproduces about 81% of its electricity through Oil and Gas which costs us aboutUSD 9.4 Billion. To put it in other terms, that is about 53% of our totalexports and is the biggest cost on our import bill. Now given that our relianceon thermal power is so large, we cannot just simply dismantle it and magicallymove to hydro power. But what we can do is change the fuel used to gain thermalpower. Instead of using Oil and Gas, both of which are getting more expensiveand have volatile international prices, we can move to using coal. But not theThar Coal, I will explain why later, but imported Coal. If we were to importclean coal and use that as a fuel instead of Oil and Gas, it would cost us lessand the price of coal is more stable than that of Oil and Gas in theinternational market. This can bring some sort of price stability in ourelectricity prices that keep changing due to changes in international market prices.
• Movingpast the myth of Thar Coal:  Yes there iscoal in Thar. But assuming that it can be used immediately or it will solve allour energy problems is a myth propagated by a few people and political partiesfor their personal gains. Experts agree that Thar Coal is highly unstable andeven gasification of it is not without risks. The problem is because it is sounstable, it is very difficult to transport from location A to B. So the onlyoption left is Gasification on location, which again requires heavy investmentand even then might have practical difficulties due to the unstable nature ofthe coal deposits. So instead of wasting time and effort on this, for now weshould be focusing on importing coal to at least start replacing the everincreasing oil and gas bill.
• ImprovedEnergy Mix:  Energy Mixrefers to what sources of energy do we utilize in Pakistan to fulfill ouroverall energy needs. I need to give credit to the PML N on this one as theyare the first ones to talk of the holistic energy mix and not just the CNG orthe Electricity crisis. The fact is all our energy is interdependent. I havepreviously advocated that we need to move off CNG as we simply do not haveenough of it to supply the commercial, industrial and home users. It is nowtime that any future energy strategy Pakistan is supposed to have comes with aproper energy mix to solve our issues. As mentioned earlier, we need to moveoff Oil and Gas for Power generation. We need more Hydel Plants and RenewableEnergy projects. In the next 5 years we need to aim at getting 5% of our totalpower supply from Renewable sources. In addition to that we need to use theNuclear Power we are so proud of to supply electricity. Right now we are atabout 3% power generation from nuclear sources, which have to go up to at least5%. So an overall improved energy mix is what can solve our issues in the longrun.
• Standalone Power Projects:   This is asuggestion that I gave at the conference and I am advocating it now again.About 40% of Pakistan is off the National Grid. That means they effectively getto no electricity. Now thing is the way our grid operates, it is alreadysuffering from heavy line losses and other technical issues. So it is extremelyhard and very expensive to get 40% of Pakistan on to the National Grid. Butthere are solutions to this. We can work on and finance independent stand alonepower projects that can function in areas where there no national grid. Thisway the local communities and businessmen can set up their own energy solutionswithout taking prior permission from NationalElectric Power Regulatory Authority like they have to now. That wouldmean they can set up small scale Solar Panels and Plants in their communitiesand sell that electricity locally. In addition to that small wind farms can beused in such area given they are close to a wind corridor. The bottom line is,in areas that do not come under the National Grid, let people do what they canto supply themselves with electricity without any government involvement.
• Dismantlethe National Grid:   This is asuggestion I have already presented to the PML N and I am putting out there forevery other party as well. The National Grid needs to be dismantled andprovincialised. I say this due to a few reasons. Under the 18^thamendment, the profits of power generations to go the province that isproducing the power, so its profits according to source for power generations.That means, if electricity is being produced at Tarbela, royalties of that arebeing paid to KP Government by all other provinces. But what happens is theysell it to the National Grid and then the National Grid sells it down to theDistrict Electrical Supply Companies, who further sell the power to theconsumers. This way if there is a shortfall, National Grid chooses theelectricity supply patterns and hence decides which areas suffer outages themost. What I am saying is this, if we dismantle the National Grid and changethe electricity supply in to an open market, where Provincial Grids can buyenergy directly from source it would improve the power supply and would be morefinancially beneficial for the power producing province. This way the provincesthat have the most issues with electricity supply can simply outbid the othersto get enough for their local demand. This would not be privatization butprovincialization and this would encourage provincial governments to startdoing more for their people instead of relying on the Federal Government. Thiscan eventually lead to provinces working harder to upgrade their grids andreduce their line losses as their people would know exactly who to blame if thepower goes out. I think it is time we started thinking on these lines giventhat the 18^th amendment has already passed and provincial autonomyis our future.

For all of the discouraging news coming out of South Asia – Afghanistan’s escalating turmoil, the breakdown in U.S.-Pakistani relations, and growing political instability in Islamabad – there is one heartening development: India and Pakistan have restarted their peace dialogue following a three-year hiatus caused by the 2008 terrorist strikes in Mumbai. As a leading Pakistani daily puts it, “there is a discernible defrosting of relations with our neighbor to the east.”

The annals of India-Pakistan relations are filled with numerous false dawns and the current moves could well founder upon the sharp historical animosities that regularly bedevil bilateral affairs. But things may be different this time. Reports out of Islamabad indicate that the Pakistani government realizes the country is in desperate economic straits and that closer ties with its ever-richer sibling constitute a much needed lifeline. The military establishment is also said to understand that the eastern border needs to be stabilized so resources can be focused on combating rising internal security threats.

In a potentially significant development, Islamabad is reportedly even willing to put the perennially-inflamed dispute over the Kashmir region on the back burner. If these media accounts prove accurate – and if the beleaguered civilian government in Islamabad is able to sustain this stance in the face of vigorous domestic opposition – the event would represent an important breakthrough in the India-Pakistan rivalry. It would pick up where the intensive back-channel peace process both sides undertook in 2004-07 left off. Although those negotiations ultimately collapsed due to Pervez Musharraf’s political travails, they may have come tantalizing close to defusing the volatile Kashmir issue.

Things are already rolling along on the economic engagement front. Last summer, Pakistan’s Bollywood-esque foreign minister, the 34-year-old Hina Rabbani Khar, held unexpectedly warm talks in New Delhi, where she emphasized that a “mind-set change” was occurring among younger Indians and Pakistanis. This was quickly followed by a trip to New Delhi by Pakistan’s commerce minister, who brought with him a notably large business delegation.

The trip was especially productive. The two countries pledged to more than double their two-way trade flows – to the $6 billion annual level – by 2015. They agreed to ease visa rules for business travel and to open a new customs post at the Attari-Wagah border crossing that lies midway between Lahore and Amritsar. Islamabad also committed to extending “most favored nation” trade status to New Delhi, reciprocating the status India earlier conferred upon Pakistan. This last development promises to enliven the 2006 South Asia Free Trade Agreement which up until this point has been all but a dead letter. India’s commerce minister, Anand Sharma, captured the spirit of the meeting when he exclaimed that “only shared prosperity can bring lasting peace.”

Mr. Sharma, with his own high-profile business delegation in tow, paid a reciprocal visit to Islamabad earlier this month, where he signed several agreements to further reduce impediments to bilateral trade. The Indian and Pakistani central banks have announced plans to open branch offices in the other country, a move that will help facilitate cross-border transactions. Both countries have also advanced initiatives to enhance energy cooperation, including joint development of a natural gas field in Turkmenistan. Expert talks on expanding commerce in the electrical power and petroleum sectors are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

If enhanced trade ties were to develop between South Asia’s largest economies, they would produce significant commercial and (eventually) security dividends for both countries. Despite the common civilizational and historical bonds that permeate South Asia, as well as the unified market forged by the British Raj, the region today is remarkably fragmented economically. Trade flows between India and Pakistan, for instance, represent a miniscule fraction of each country’s overall trade portfolio. Attari-Wagah is the only vehicle crossing along the 1,800-mile-long international border. The two-lane road there is only open a mere eight hours a day and the cargo that passes through it must be unloaded and transferred to local trucks. Indeed, the crossing, which some refer to as the “Checkpoint Charlie of South Asia,” is better known for the Kabuki-like displays put on by the border guards than as an efficient transit point.

The pervasive barriers to bilateral economic cooperation have also spurred circuitous and highly inefficient trade patterns. A booming India requires cement for its construction sector yet is forced to import it from Africa instead of Pakistan, where the cement industry has excess capacity. Off-the-books trade – the value of which easily rivals official levels – is also conducted via third countries like Dubai, Singapore and Afghanistan. According to various studies, a more liberalized trade regime would increase bilateral exchange at least 20 times above current figures as well as boost economic prosperity in both countries. A new report by the Confederation of Indian Industries argues that cross-border trade could easily quadruple in just a few years if both governments moved to increase economic linkages.

(This commentator has argued elsewhere that the United States would be wise to reinforce the current stirrings by launching a Marshall Plan-like initiative geared toward bolstering cross-border economic cooperation between the two countries. This effort would dovetail well with the Obama administration’s “New Silk Road” initiative that is designed to ensure Afghanistan’s economic viability by building it up as a regional trade and transit hub.)

To be sure, there is a surfeit of factors that could derail the thaw in India-Pakistan relations, such as political upheaval in Islamabad or a major terrorist attack in India that emanates from Pakistani soil. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s government has a tense arrangement with the army leadership and is under increasing fire from an emboldened Supreme Court; indeed, Gilani may in the coming months find himself in jail on contempt of court charges. Still, the Pakistan Peoples Party is expected to do well in the March 2nd Senate elections and this should provide enough political reinforcement for the government to continue, at least in the short term, with the push for improved relations with New Delhi.

A larger, if somewhat more distant, danger resides in the sharper security competition that is sure to erupt between the countries as the United States and its NATO allies hasten their departure from Afghanistan. Both India and Pakistan regard the country as a key theater for their strategic rivalry and the current defrosting in relations will likely be a casualty as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates into a new civil war that has regional powers scrambling for influence.

Still, the present stirrings of peace demonstrate that despite its singularity intensity the India-Pakistan rivalry has always been a fluid admixture of cooperative impulses and competitive dynamics. Both governments would be smart to do what they now can to accentuate the former before the latter returns to the fore.

Warid’s youth based cellular brand Glow by Warid has announced an exciting campaign, “Dosti Ke Rung“, celebrating its core ideology of providing youth entertainment and value.

Glow’s ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ movement is based on the premise of providing groups of friends with an opportunity to come and enjoy its uniquely designed on-ground activities.

These special activities will be taken on-ground live with customised Warid Glow activity areas in select colleges, universities, shopping and entertainment venues across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.

Glow’s celebration officially begins with the brand new ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ music video being aired across all major local networks, promoting the colours of friendship.

On Glow’s sustained efforts to create avenues for entertainment and engaging the youth, Director Marketing Warid Sadaf Zarrar said, “Warid launched Glow for the very purpose of providing the youth with the most competitive voice and data packages, as well as providing entertainment across various platforms. To this end, Glow has organised as well as partnered with a diversity of events encompassing education, music, theatre, sports and games. With the ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign, we want to further our commitment to the youth and promote positivity within the youth, and bring something fresh and new.”

Brand Manager Glow Saud Khan while giving his comments said, “Glow is a brand targeting the youth of the country and we as a brand understand what “Dosti” means to our audience. The ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign is our way of rejoicing with the youth and showing that we are an integral part of their friendship circle.”

These new initiatives by Glow come at a time when planned activities for the youth are few and far between, and with this, Glow encourages youngsters to come forward and participate in their specially-planned events that will be taking place during March and April across the major cities of Pakistan.

Further, by introducing the lowest Friends & Family call rates at 61 paisas/30 seconds, exciting SMS bundles and amazing Mobile Internet tariffs, Glow makes it easier for the youth to keep in touch with their friends at all times.

How to activate Glow Dosti Package ?

• New Glow Customers: Dial 789 to activate Glow Dosti
• Existing Warid Prepaid or Glow Customers: SMS Dosti to 7777

SMS Bundles:

• 150 SMS at Rs. 1.50 / day * SMS Glow 150 to 7777 to activate
• 400 SMS at Rs. 2.99 day * SMS Glow 400 to 7777 to activate
• 700 SMS at Rs. 6.99 / week * SMS Glow 700 to 7777 to activate
• 1000 SMS at Rs. 7.99 / week * SMS Glow 1000 to 7777 to activate

To deactivate, SMS OFF to 7777
Note: Rs. 1+tax will apply on every SMS sent to 7777

Mobile Internet Package:

• 2MB at Rs. 2.99 / day * SMS 2MB to 7777 to activate it.
• 10MB at Rs. 30 / month * SMS 10MB to 7777 to activate it.
• Surf @ Twilight: Unlimited at Rs. 20 / day (1am to 9am) * SMS Twilight to 7777 to activate it.

Note: Activation Charges are Rs. 20 and Rs. 1 + tax will apply on all SMS sent to 7777.

To add Friend and Family or fnf numbers and for more details visit Glow official Page

© Pakistan Live News

ISLAMABAD, Feb 27 (APP): Minister for Interior, Rehman Malik on Monday directed Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to provide full assistance to provincial police department in tracing out the criminals involved in Nowshera blast.Condemning the bomb blast in Nowshera, the Minister also directed FIA to gather forensic evidence at the blast site so as to dig out the facts.Rehman also telephoned

Glow by Warid announces ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ campaign — a nationwide celebration of friendship

Youth-based cellular brand Glow by Warid has announced an exciting campaign, ‘Dosti Ke Rung’, celebrating its core ideology of providing youth entertainment and value. Glow’s ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ movement is based on the premise of providing groups of friends with an opportunity to come and enjoy its uniquely designed on-ground activities. These special activities will be taken on-ground live with customised Warid Glow activity areas in select colleges, universities, shopping and entertainment venues across Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Glow’s celebration officially begins with the brand new ‘Dosti Ke Rung’ music video being aired across all major local networks, promoting the colours of friendship.