Government to Launch Free Public Wi-Fi in Punjab

Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif has given approval for free of charge public Wi-Fi across the province. Free Wi-Fi facility will be provided under “Khadim-e-Punjab Metro Wi-Fi Network Programme” at important educational institutes, hospitals, railway stations, airports, metro bus routes and bus stands etc. 

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that the Metro Wi-Fi Network Program will begin from Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore, and eventually expand in other areas of Punjab. The purpose of this program is to promote education in the province with the help of modern technology.

Public to get Free Wi-Fi in Punjab

The chief minister also approved a proposal to provide tablets to teachers of mathematics and science subjects from Class-VI to X. Students of Class V to VIII of public sector schools who obtain prominent positions in annual examinations will also be given tablets. 

Chief Minister added that the Punjab Information Technology Board has also started the program of digitalization of textbooks with the cooperation of Punjab Textbooks Board. Punjab government has digitalized all science and mathematics textbooks from Grade 6 to 10, while CDs of the books have also been produced. 

CM Punjab further added, "Information technology is being fully utilized for ensuring good governance. Necessary steps will also be taken for the promotion of information technology for the capacity-building of departments besides improving efficiency of institutions at district level. A program is also being evolved for benefiting from information technology at tehsil and district levels as maximum use of information technology is among the priorities of the government."

The Chief Minister issued instructions for setting up of a committee headed by Chief Secretary for submitting final recommendations with regard to promotion of information technology in provincial departments and districts at the earliest.

How to know Owner Name of a Mobile Phone Number?

If you are using a SIM card and have forgotten that who is the owner of this mobile number. This might be due to the reason that in early years it was not mandatory to bring the CNIC of the person who is getting it, so the people sometimes use the photocopy of same CNIC or ID Card for issuing many SIM cards. And these SIMs are being used by the family members without knowing that who is the real owner of the SIM card. Now when it is necessary to verify the SIMs by the same person who is using them, people are curious to know the name of the person who own it. 

How to check Owner Name of a SIM?

Send a blank sms to 667 from the particular SIM of any mobile company i.e. Zong, Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and Warid etc. to know the owner name. If you didn't get any reply by sending blank sms, try by sending MNP to 667.

You will get a reply sms with name and CNIC number of the owner of the SIM card in the below format:

Number:  

Name: 

CNIC:

Ownership information of any SIM are confidential, plz don't share information with any irrelevant person.

Service charges are Rs.1.5+tax per sms.

Always keep your mobile phone safe as there is no security mechanism (such as a PIN) to get access to the data, anyone who gets a hold of your phone can get the name and NIC. If you loose your phone then the person who gets your phone can know your name and CNIC number.

Free Check Biometric Re-verification of Zong, Ufone, Mobilink, Telenor, Warid

Once you have verify your mobile numbers through Bio-metric Re-verification process, most probably you will get a confirmation message from your service provider company. In case you didn't get confirmation message or you just want to counter check/ ensure that your SIM ownership has been properly verified, you can check it free of cost simply dialing a code or sending a message and you will get confirmation.

Free Check Biometric Re-verification

Following are simplest ways of all the 05 mobile service provider companies in Pakistan, to check bio-metric re-verification. No charges applies for this service.

How to Check Biometric Re-verification of Zong

Dial *6622# from your Zong number. You will immediately receive confirmation message that "Moaziz Sarif, Apni SIM Biometric vrify karwane ka shukria." You can also get free unlimited calls, 5000 SMS and 500MB data under Zong Biometric Promo.

Another SMS service 7911 has been launched to check re-verification of Zong SIMs. To check the verified numbers by sending “V” to this short-code 7911.

How to Check Biometric Re-verification of Ufone

Dial *336*1# from your Ufone number. Service reply will be "Dear customer your number 033389001xx is verified."

How to Check Biometric Re-verification of Mobilink Jazz

Send your CNIC No. to 6001 from your Mobilink number. You will get following information in SMS:

Total numbers on CNIC 34001-04500xx-1 = 1

Verified = 1

Un-verified = 0

Verified = 03005900xxx

How to Check Biometric Re-verification of Telenor

Send a blank SMS to 7751. You will confirmation message shortly.

How to Check Biometric Re-verification of Warid

Customer can send message (CNIC) to short-code 789 through primary verified number and in return he will get status of numbers against his/her CNIC along with verification stats. Format of this process is sent to primary verified number via SMS.

Last date of SIM Verification through Biometric Process is 13 April, 2015.

To check how many SIMs are registered on your CNIC, Send your CNIC Number (without dashes) to 668 by SMS. (Example ID Card Format 611234544333)

11 Famous Pakistanis who Married Foreigners

Here are some famous Pakistanis who married foreigners. These famous Pakistanis includes mostly Cricketers and Showbiz celebrities. However some poets, singers and politicians also got married with foreigners. So let’s have a look at these Pakistanis and their foreign love mates.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan and Reham Khan

Reham Khan is a British Pakistani journalist. She was born to Dr. Nayyar Ramzan, a physician. She is an ethnic Pashtun hails from Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Her parents moved to Libya in the late 1960s, where Reham was born in 1973. Reham has three kids from her first marriage. Cricketer and politician, PTI Chairman Imran Khan tied knot with Reham Khan in 2015.

Imran Khan and Reham Khan

Imran Khan and Jemima Khan

In 1995, Imran Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, daughter of a UK billionaire businessman. Jemima converted to Islam. The couple has two sons, Sulaiman Isa and Kasim. The couple got divorced in 2004.

Imran Khan and Jemima Khan

Wasim Akram and Shaniera

The famous Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram married the second time with Shaniera Akram in 2013. She belongs to Melbourne, Australia.

Wasim Akram and Shaniera

Mohsin Khan and Reena Roy

Another Pakistani legend cricketer Mohsin Khan married Indian actress Reena Roy. In 1983, at the height of her fame, Reena Roy decided to quit the film industry to marry Pakistani cricketer Mohsin Khan. The couple later divorced.

Mohsin Khan and Reena Roy

Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza

This most famous couple also belongs to two different countries. Shoaib is a Pakistani cricketer while Sania is an Indian tennis player. They married in 2010.

Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza

Sonia Jahan and Vivek Narain

Sonya Jehan is a Pakistani actress of French descent, who appears in Indian films. The grand daughter of melody queen Noor Jehan, Sonia Jahan married to an Indian Banker Vivek Narain in 2012.

Sonya Jehan and Vivek

Mathira and Fathan Rizvi

The controversial and scandalous Pakistani actress and singer Mathira was born in Zimbave to an African father and Pakistani mother. Her family moved to Pakistan when she was 13. Mathira married to a rich guy of Dubai, Fathan Rizvi in 2012. In 2014 she gave birth to a son.

Mathira and Fathan Rizvi

Noor and Vikram

Pakistani actress and host Noor was married to a dubai based Hindu man Vikram in early 2008. In April of that year, she moved back to Lahore and filed for divorce shortly afterwards. And now the couple has parted ways (Divorced).

Noor and Vikram

Zainab Aitzaz and Even Johnson

Zainab Aitzaz is the daughter of barrister and politician Aitzaz Ahsan. Zainab’s husband is a Norwegian guy. The Nikkah ceremony of Zainab Aitzaz and Even Johnson was held in Lahore. Zainab Aitzaz’s husband Even Johnson recently converted to Islam. The Nikkah ceremony was held according to the Islamic Shariah Law.

Zainab Aitzaz and Even Johnson

Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Alys Faiz

In 1941, Faiz became affectionate with Alys Faiz, a British national and a member of Communist Party of the United Kingdom, who was a student at the Government College University where Faiz taught poetry. The Nikahnama (marriage deed) between Alys George and Faiz Ahmed Faiz was solemnized by Sheikh Abdullah in Srinagar in 1941 at Pari Mahal.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Alys Faiz

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto married with Iranian-Kurdish Nusrat Ispahani (Begum Nusrat Bhutto), in Karachi on 8 September 1951. Benazir Bhutto, Murtaza Bhutto, Sanam Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto are four children of the couple.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Begum Nusrat Bhutto

Zaheer Abbas and Samina Abbas (Rita Luthra)

One of the finest batsmen from Pakistan, Zaheer Abbas met Rita Luthra in 1980s. Rita belongs to India. Rita used to study interior designing in United Kingdom and Zaheer used to play for English county Gloucestershire. They got married in 1988. After marriage, Rita is now known as Samina Abbas. Zaheer and Samina now live in Karachi, where the latter runs her interior designing business.

Zaheer Abbas and Samina Abbas

So these are the few famous Pakistani people and celebrities who married foreigners. If you know about any other famous Pakistani who got married with a foreigner, you can mention it in comments section.

Tando Soomro - A Model Village of Pakistan

While Pakistan ranks high on the Global Risk of Terrorism List. Is terrorism really Pakistan's No.1 problem? In the past decade terrorist violence has claimed 55,000 lives however in the last 12 months alone 400,000 children have died under the age of 5 years making Pakistan the third largest contributor under 5 years deaths in the world. Poor health and hygiene conditions, scarcity of clean drinking water coupled with low literacy rate makes this the biggest challenge for Pakistan. Average school attendance in rural areas is about 61 percent compared to 80 percent in South Asia. Clean drinking water is still a luxury in many parts of the country. 56 percent of rural Pakistan lives under $2 a day which accounts 75 percent of total population living below the poverty line. So health, hygiene, poverty, access to clean water and education are among the biggest problems faced by Pakistan today.

But there is HOPE.......

On a quest to improve livelihood in rural Pakistan to the perfect village initiative, UNICEF Team came across Tando Soomro, a model village in District Tando Allahyar, situated at a distance of 50km from the city of Hyderabad in the Sindh province. In Tando Soomro the villagers together formulate a committee by electing leaders among themselves to carry out initiatives on health, safety, hygiene and clean water. Every villager contribute as low as 2 Euros and as highest as 10,000 Euros۔

In Tandoo Soomro you will see paved streets, secure sewerage drains and a proper waste management system deployed by the villagers committee. Wooden panels are placed on every electricity pole to safeguard children from electrification while playing in the streets. Separate land is also allocated as a playground for the children of the village to play football and cricket.Everyone is facilitated with provision of security, hygiene and health. To  protect residents from common diseases like diarrhea, the committee has ensured access to clean drinking water for every villager through Reverse Osmosis Water Filter. To protect people from malaria, dengue and polio, the committee carries out frequent disinfecting spray and polio vaccination throughout the year.

The village has a government hospital which is jointly administered through a public private through a public private partnership with the villagers and provides free healthcare facilities to everyone. The committee works closely with the government to run schools in the area to ensure 100 percent enrollment from the village hence creating a brighter future for generations to come. Special emphasis is given to education of the female population which is evident from the high female enrollment in the schools of the village.

In view of law and order situation in the area, the villagers have built a boundary wall encircling the entire village with the entry and exit points secured 24/7 by the village representatives. Not a single case of theft or murder have been reported in the last five years in Tando Soomro.

The committee has required to represent their progress on key indicators along with a transparent view on payment collections and the budget utilization in the annual village get together.

Nizamuddin Nizamani, Pioneer Member of Tandoo Soomro Development Organization said, "People should take charge and takeover their area they live in. They should takeover their villages, their small towns and make the living conditions favorable, instead of moving to the cities. Pakistan needs this immensely, so that people migrate less to urbanized areas and cities are stopped from turning into slums and ghettos."

This is a model village in Sindh. This is how every village in our country may progress and become a model village. Developing the rural areas will automatically benefit the urban areas.

Source: A video documentary by UNICEF

Cricket World Cup Top Records - Best Bowlers, Batsmen, Wicket-keepers, Catchers...

International Cricket Council (ICC) organized Cricket World Cup every four years since it was first held in 1975. Pakistani Cricket Team has participated in all the 11 World Cups till current world cup of 2015. Pakistan is the Champion of Cricket World Cup-1992 and Runner-up of 1999.

Australia is the winner of 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups. India is the winner of 1983 and 2011. West Indies got championship in 1975 and 1979. Sri Lanka won 1996's World Cup. Let see who will be the winner of World Cup - 2015.

Best Bowlers with Highest Number of Wickets Taken in Cricket World Cup History

 

Best Bowling Records

 Best Players with Highest Number of Catches

Batsmen with Highest Number of Overall Runs

 

Batsmen with Highest Number of Individual Scores

 Best Wicket-Keepers

If you know any other notable record of cricket world cup history especially of Pakistan, please write it in Comments.
Please also guess who will be the winner of 2015 - Cricket World Cup.

Inaam Ghar Plus - How to Register for this TV Show?

"Inaam Ghar Plus" is the second season of famous mega show Inaam Ghar. Dr. Aamir Liaquat Hussain has come once again, with his famous TV Show with a lot more fun and games. Inaam Ghar Plus is started on Geo TV from 13th February, 2015. In order to participate, you can register online to further ease the registration process. This will give everybody a fair chance to take part in the program and win free prizes.

The show will be aired on every Friday and Saturday at 07:30PM on Geo Entertainment.

Inaam Ghar Plus

How to Register for Inaam Ghar Plus?

• Visit www.inaamgharplus.tv/register.php 
• Fill out online registration form that is for a single entry. You are required to fill out their names, city, address, education, gender, CNIC number, age, mobile number, email address and will also have to attach your picture.
• After completing the process, just click on the submit button to complete the process.
• You will be asked, If you have any family members whop would like to come along with you? Select Yes or No. If you select Yes you can add details of maximum 04 family members with you.
• On completion of the registration process, you will receive an SMS from Geo TV confirming your registration.

Basic Rules for Registrations

The applicants who want to participate in the show, will however have to fulfill certain conditions.

1. They should be older than 12 years old.
2. Inaam Ghar Plus entry passes cannot be sold.
3. Seats on Inaam Ghar Plus TV Show are available on first come first basis.
4. Maximum 4 members of a family can participate in Inaam Ghar Plus.
5. Beware of forgery! GEO network will not be responsible in case of any mishap.

Update on 05-11-2015

How to get Driving License in Pakistan - Step by Step Guide

Here is step-by-step guide, how I got my driving license including all the relevant information at one place.

Driving License Categories in Pakistan

1. Motor Cycle: Motor Cycle driving license is valid for motorcycle only.
2. Motor Car: Motor car driving license is valid for car, jeep and Delivery van.
3. LTV: Light transport vehicle driving license is valid for car, jeep, Mini bus and lightweight transport.
4. HTV: heavy transport vehicle driving license is valid for buses, trucks, trailers and any type of heavy transport.
5. Tractor Agriculture
6. Motor Cycle Rickshaw

Fee Schedule for Driving License 

Tickets, of mentioned value against each type of vehicle, are to be bought from GPO.

Motor Cycle = Rs.550
Motor Car = Rs.900
Motor Cycle/ Motor Car = Rs.950
LTV = Rs.900
Motor Cycle/ LTV = Rs.950
Tractor Agriculture = Rs.300
Tractor Commercial = Rs.600
LTV + PSV = Rs.950
HTV = Rs.1200
HTV + PSV = Rs.1200
Motor Cycle Rickshaw = Rs.600
Motor Cycle + Motor Cycle Rickshaw = Rs.650

Learner Permit = Rs.60

Age Criteria

• Motor Cycle/ Motor Car                  = 18 Years
• LTV, Rikshaw, Tractor Commercial = 21 Years 
• HTV                                                = 22 Years

Step by Step Guide for getting Driving License

1. Learner Permit

1. Fill "Learner Permit Application Form"
2. Attach 2 passport size photographs, copy of CNIC and Medical Certificate.
3. Paste Ticket of Rs.60 for each category.
4. Deposit your complete application file to your nearest Traffic Police Office/ Licensing Center. 
5. They will immediately issue you Learner Permit, which will be valid for next 6 months.

2. Regular Driving License

1. After 42 days of getting Learner Permit, you can apply for Regular Driving License.
2. Fill "Regular Driving License Form-A".
3. Attach 3 passport size photographs, copy of CNIC, Medical Certificate and Original Learner Permit.
4. Paste relevant tickets on your application form.
5. Deposit your complete application file to your nearest Traffic Police Office/ Licensing Center. 
6. They will inform you about Time/Date for test.
7. Appear in test on given date. Usually Verbal Test/ Interview and practical driving test are taken for Motorcycle, Rickshaw, Tractor and Car while a written test is required for LTV and HTV Licenses.
8. Upon successful completion of these tests, you will be granted with a regular driving license.

3. International Driving License

International Driving License can only be issued to those who have already got regular license from Pakistan. For International Driving License, following documents are required:

• Attested copy of CNIC
• Attested copy of Valid Driving License
• 2 attested passport size photographs (one each from front and back)
• Attested copy of Passport (valid for at least 6 months with visa affixed of country to be visited)
• Ticket of Rs.22 for court fee
• Ticket of Rs.60

Important Information

1. Application forms can be obtained from any photo state shop near to Licensing Center.
2. You can apply only in your local driving test center, from the city of your domicile. However if you are temporarily residing in any other district (e.g. for employment etc.) you have to provide employment certificate/ resident certificate, issued from your department/ employer. 
3. Validity of driving license is 5 years. Before expiry, you have to renew your license from the same issuing authority/ office.
4. Learn and remember all traffic signals before going for test.
5. Usually they ask you to drive in "L shape" forward and backward for Motor Car and LTV. However they may ask you for driving in "? Shape" forward/ backward and parallel parking for HTV.

Smart Electricity Meters with Prepaid Cards are being introduced in Pakistan

Government has decided to introduce smart electricity meters in Pakistan. Prepaid cards will be used for billing just like mobile phone prepaid cards. A more interesting feature is the ability to top-up your electricity bill. Prepaid cards will be available and users will load them as needed so no balance means no electricity. Users will load electricity cards according to their electricity needs and electric supply will shut off as soon as the card is spent.

According to the details, the Secretary for water and electricity Younas Dagha informed that the government plans to start implementing this system of smart meters from March. The smart meter system will be completed within 2-3 years. Dagha also stated that LNG electricity plants will start producing within 2-3 years. This will produce electricity which is Rs 8.80 per unit cheaper.

The basic purpose of this plan is to control and minimize electricity theft while it will also lessen operational costs of WAPDA, PEPCO and other electric supply companies. Currently a huge manpower is deployed only for meter reading and bill distribution which may be used elsewhere as billing will be done automatically.

Smart meters will allow consumers to manage their electric consumption more efficiently. It will also increase privacy of consumers and reduce operational costs as no need of on-site visit for meter reading or bill dispatching. 

Presently, smart meters are successfully being operated in USA, UK, Italy, Australia, Netherlands, France and Canada.