Jhimpir Wind Power: Pakistan’s first wind farm gets global recognition

RAWALPINDI: The first wind power generation project in Pakistan has recently been recognised by Project Finance Magazine. The financial magazine, in circulation for the last twenty years, is widely read by financiers, advisers, management consultants, stakeholders managing and developing projects globally and senior government officials.

Turkish-based Zorlu Group showed interest to set up the first wind farm in Pakistan. To turn this into a reality, the company decided to open a subsidiary in Pakistan called Zorlu Energy.

The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) played a crucial role in helping Zorlu Energy to initiate this project.

The Alternative Energy Development was founded by the government in 2003. The purpose of AEDB was to reduce Pakistan’s dependence on hydro and fossil fuel based power generation by identifying alternative energy resources like wind, solar, biogas and micro based run of the river projects. The other major task of AEDB was to help foreign firms invest in this sector.

AEDB had earlier identified that Pakistan has the wind power potential to generate 50,000MW from this free and clean source of energy. Unfortunately, there was no bankable wind data, the data available with the Met department was not at the required turbine hub height and the banks or the investors were not comfortable by these claims alone. AEDB came up with a novel idea of providing ‘wind risk’ data to the investors, making Pakistan the first country to provide such data.

Zorlu Energy was the first company to move ahead with guarantees and assistance from AEDB in setting up the first wind turbine in Jhimpir area of Sindh. Zorlu Energy is investing $136 million in this pioneer wind farm project.

The Istanbul-based company borrowed $38.1 million from the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., $36.8 million from the Asian Development Bank, $20 million from the Eco Trade & Development Bank and $16.2 million from Habib Bank Ltd. (HBL) of Pakistan for the project.

Other investors like Fauji Fertilizer Company, China International Water & Electric Corporation have also keenly followed the progress of this project and have initiated projects in this lucrative new and clean energy generation sector.

In recognition of its wind power project in Pakistan, Zorlu Energy Pakistan has received the “Middle East Renewable Deal of the Year” for 2011 by Project Finance Magazine.

Attaining this prestigious award by Zorlu Energy demonstrates the ease and security of investing in the renewable energy sector in Pakistan.

The government has been late in identifying the potential of free, clean and renewable power sources in the country. In October 2011, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved an Rs12.61 per KWh feed-in tariff for foreign financed wind power projects. This tariff has been approved to encourage foreign financiers to invest in this lucrative energy sector in Pakistan.

AEDB is expecting to achieve a target of harnessing renewable energy sources to produce 400MW by the end of this year. The target will be a record in itself as no country has been able to harness 400MW within six years of its first plant

News Details: Express Tribune

Pakistan Exports Talent: Nokia Top Brass Promoted to Regional Heads

Pakistan is considered as highly potential country for its talented human resource; this is particularly valid for telecom sector.

This is also evident from the fact that top level professionals at Nokia Pakistan were recently promoted and shifted to different key level positions in various regions.

Haseeb Ihtisham, Marketing Head of Nokia Pakistan has been promoted to region’s head to look after company’ business in four countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq.

Reza Burney, Head of Care at Nokia Pakistan has been designated as Head of Care Near East Region with countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and Iraq.

Shoaib Kadri has been elevated to Business Controllers Nokia for Near East Region, who also served Nokia in Pakistan under the same capacity.

All these officials were previously working in Pakistan but they were also looking after commercial affairs of Afghanistan through distribution channels.

Arif Shafique, was elevated to the position of Country Manager Pakistan Afghanistan earlier this year, after Khalid Alvi left regional charge of Nokia for personal reasons.

Shafique is also a local talent and has been promoted as head of the organization for his successful performance at Nokia in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Besides, Imran Khalid, who was transferred to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan as Country Manger in June 2011, has also been promoted. He is now Vice President of Near East Region.

Overall, the key officials of Nokia Pakistan and Afghanistan have been recognized as professionally sound and unmatchable in the entire region.

News Details : ProPakistani

NUST Launches Pakistan’s Fastest Supercomputer

National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) inaugurated its fastest supercomputing facility in a ceremony held on Tuesday at its Research Centre for Modeling and Simulation (RCMS).

The supercomputer installed in NUST is the fastest GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) based parallel computing system operating in any organization/academic institution in Pakistan till date.

The supercomputer can perform parallel computation at a peak speed of 132 Teraflops (132 Trillion Operations per second).  It is equipped with multi-core processors and graphics co-processors with inter-processor communication speed of 40 Gbps


Techinical Specifications:

Computer’s Cluster configuration:
66 NODE supercomputer with 30,992 processor cores
2 Head Node (16 Processor Cores)
32 Dual Quad Core Computer Nodes (256 Processor Cores)
32 Nvidia Computing Processors
Each processor has 960 Processor Cores (30,720 processor Cores)
QDR Infiniband Interconnection
21.6TB SAN storage

Imaginational ceremony was presided over by Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Javaid Laghari.

Speaking at the ceremony, Principal RCMS Engr Sikandar Hayat highlighted some of the unique features of this state-of-the-art computing facility recently acquired by Nust through financial grant by Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

Hayat said that besides the supercomputer’s extensive utilisation in the computation-intensive research projects in the areas of Fluid Dynamics and Biosciences, this massively parallel facility can also be utilized to handle huge data processing applications of social sciences such as Flood and Weather Forecasting, Oil and Gas Exploration, energy efficient building designs and national transportation management.

Addressing the event, Laghari appreciated the efforts of the entire team associated with the project and encouraged all institutions to come forward and benefit from the facility acquired by Nust. He assured HEC’s full support in this regard.

Rector Nust Engr Muhammad Asghar, in his welcome address, sharing his vision, specifically mentioned that the acquisition of the supercomputing facility would be a source of inspiration for PhD scholars, abroad, to return to Pakistan.

“This will give an impetus for collaborative research between universities and other research organizations within the country and abroad.”

Dr Imran Akhtar, the key note speaker, gave a highly motivating and thought provoking speech on the occasion, encouraging young researchers to come forward and utilize the facility in solving national challenges in the areas of engineering, bio-informatics, political science, psychology and social sciences.

News Details:  Pro Pakistani

PACPAD: An Android Tablet by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex

You might have already heard by now. Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) has manufactured the (not really) first Android tablet in Pakistan – the PACPAD 1. Not just this product, Pakistan’s air force complex has also launched their own version of a netbook and an e-book reader.

PACPAD is a joint venture between PAC and Chinese manufacturers to boost the local economy and provide low-cost solutions to consumers. These tablets are manufactured at an air force base in Kamra in northern Pakistan.

The product has received mixed reviews. Apart from appreciations to PAC on launching a local product, many have objected on why is PAC making consumer electronics where as it should be defending our air spaces.

We haven’t tried out the PACPAD yet, so can’t really comment on the performance and usability of the tablet. Hoping if Pakistan Air Force would send us a unit so we can bring you videos and more photos of this Android tablet!

PACPAD 1 Price and Specifications

PACPAD 1 costs Rs. 15,500 ($170) and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. A complete specifications list can be found below:

You can buy this tablet from a shop in Rawalpindi or order it online from PAC’s website.

PACPAD Display Centers

Kamra
PAC Commissary, ARF PAC Kamra

Rawalpindi
Mobile Plus: Shop No. 15, Singapore Plaza, Bank Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi.
Phone: +92 (51) 5110 007

NOTE: Currently, PACPAD is being displayed and sold at Rawalpindi and Kamra offices only.

More Details: Android Pakistan

Pakistan Military to Manufacture Handheld Tablets

Pakistan Military is reportedly in process of developing a handheld tablet, a market dominated by the likes of Apple, Amazon and Samsung, reported Express Tribune the other day.

A rather surprising report said that the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) Kamra has started up a new commercial venture with a Chinese company to manufacture smart tablets to strengthen national economy.

It is said that venture may produce several products starting with a computing tablet, a notebook and an eBook reader.

Details suggest that products are initially being marketed in Rawalpindi, but modalities needed to be finalized so it could expand to other cities including Lahore and Karachi.

The competitively priced products, he said, have several benefits because they are being manufactured in Kamra.

“It comes with a joint one-year warranty of PAC and Innavtek. Because PAC is producing it, it will ensure quality. We will also provide backup support,” the official said an official.

Update:

Okay we have got this information, according to which there are two devices (a tablet and e-reader) available for sale. Notebook will be made available in March 2012. Keep reading for more details:

E-Reader: PAC Pad1

• Portable eBook Reader
• 7” TFT Screen
• 480 x 800 Resolution
• 10 Hours Battery time
• Media supported: AVI, MKV, MP4, MP3, PDF, EPUB
• DRM Compliance
• USB Connector
• Price: Rs. 8500

Tablet: PAC eBook 1

• 1 GHz processor
• 7” Capacitive Multi-touch screen
• 1920 x 1280 resolution
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• 256 MB Ram
• 5 Hours Battery time
• Android 2.3.3
• 4 GB NAND Flash included
• External SD Card upto 32 GB
• Price: Rs. 15,500

Notebook: PAC nBook1

• 11” Screen
• 1920 x 1280 resolution
• WiFi 802.11 b/g
• 1.33 Ghz processor
• 1 GB ram
• 5 Hours battery time
• 120 GB hard disk
• HDMI support
• Price: Rs. 25,500

PAC claims that all products are co-produces and assembled locally, and are sold after quality assurance.

All products come with 1 year warranty.

Where to Buy:

Currently these products are available at PAC Kamra, however, PAC is making arrangements to make these products available in open market, throughout Pakistan.

News details: ProPakistani

Pakistan’s Babar Iqbal sets new record in the field of Digital Forensic Science

Babar Iqbal, a 14 year old whiz kid from Dera Ismail Khan, has set a world record by publishing his first research paper on digital forensic science. The field of Digital Forensic Science covers the recovery and investigation of data in digital devices and is often used to aid computer crime investigations.

Babar’s research pertains to Apple iDevices (iPad, iPhone, iPod) and has been accepted by the 8th IEEE International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology. He has been invited to present his research at the conference as well.

What sets his method apart is that it doesn’t require jailbreaking and can image an iDevice in less than 30 minutes.

Jailbreaking is gaining illegal root access to iOS, Apple’s operating system, through use of custom kernels. Devices which run iOS include the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. On a jailbroken device, one could download application, themes and other stuff that is unavailable through the official Apple store.

This new method can aid law enforcement agencies in retrieving digital forensic evidence present on the phone including contacts, texts, all multimedia items as well as GPS info and Cellphone tower logs which can triangulate location of device at certain point in time.

This isn’t the first time Babar has been in the spotlight, a programmer since the age of 5, he became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) as well as the youngest Certified Internet Web Professional (CIWA) at the age of nine.

He then went on to become the youngest Certified Wireless Network Administrator (CWNA), youngest Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) and youngest Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) in .NET 3.5 at the age of 10, 11 and 12 respectively.

Babar is currently in Dubai, where he is training and working with Microsoft. The links for his website and Students Café, his initiative to create awareness about Information Technology in Pakistan and around the world at all levels of education, are given below:

• http://www.babariqbal.com/
• http://www.students-cafe.com/

News Details: ProPakistani.Pk

Pakistan has developed smartest nuclear tactical devices

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s nuclear programme has made some extraordinary progress by developing one of the world’s smartest nuclear tactical devices, it has been learnt.

According to a western diplomat, the former dictator and the then President General Pervez Musharraf, during one of his meetings with US officials, had deemed it proper to convey it to the Americans what Pakistan possessed and how the country’s nuclear scientists had secured the defence of Pakistan.

The diplomatic source said that New Delhi also knows what Pakistan has produced and what is really unmatched. The Indians got this source said and believed that Musharraf intentionally conveyed this to the Americans so that the country is not treated by the US like Afghanistan and Iraq Pakistan is neither a signatory to NPT nor CTBT, however, it has unilaterally decided to use its nuclear programme only as deterrence against any foreign aggression.

After becoming the target of the Western capitals particularly Washington, which have been unleashing all sorts of propaganda against Pakistan’s nuclear programme, Islamabad has developed one of the most credible and foolproof command and control systems for its nuclear programme. The US authorities have acknowledged the credibility and security of Pakistan’s nukes.

Wikipedia quotes a Washington-based science think tank as saying that Pakistan is increasing its capacity to produce plutonium at its Khushab nuclear facility. The website said that the estimated Pakistani nuclear weapons was probably in the neighbourhood of more than 200 by the end of 2009.

It, however, adds that the actual size of Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile is hard for experts to gauge owing to the extreme secrecy, which surrounds the programme. Pakistan’s nuclear programme was started by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto while the country conducted its nuclear test on May 28, 1998 during Nawaz Sharif’s tenure.

News Details: Geo

Intel Announces Winners at the National Science Fair

Intel Pakistan marked the end of its national science competition by announcing the winners of the Intel National Science Fair, who will go on to represent Pakistan at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2012, to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

The grand winners of the Intel National Science Fair are; ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Shiza Ghulab, Mahnoor Hassan and Bushra Shahed from Institute of Computer and Management Sciences, Peshawar. The individual winners are; Musa Rahim Khan from Agha Khan Higher Secondary School, Chitral and Syed Shahzeb Hussain from Army Public School and College, Command and Staff College, Quetta.

Widely attended by youth from all across Pakistan, the National Science Fair showcased more than 85 science projects submitted by young scientists from all across the nation who qualified for a place in the National Science Fair after rigorous competition at district and provincial levels including the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which participated for the first time in 2011.

“Intel recognizes that curiosity, critical thinking and a strong foundation in math and science are necessary for tomorrow’s workforce to compete for the high-tech jobs of the future. The National Science Fair encourages high school students to embrace and explore their interests in these subjects, and pursue paths that may lead to solving the world’s most pressing issues,” said Naveed Siraj, country manager at Intel Pakistan.

The National Science Fair, organized every year by Intel Pakistan in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, is part of Intel’s efforts to contribute to science education reform in Pakistan.  Projects displayed at the National Science Fair were assessed by a panel of renowned judges.

Intel ISEF, the world’s largest pre-college science competition, enables more than 1,500 young scientists from all across the globe to gather on a single platform to exchange ideas and knowledge, showcase cutting-edge science, and compete for over US$ 4 million* in awards and scholarships.

News Details: ProPakistani.PK

Solar technology brightens Swatis` lives

Peshawar: Thousands of worshipers, students and community members have benefited from solar-powered geysers and water pumps installed in mosques, schools and health facilities in the militancy-affected Swat, officials told Dawn on Thursday.

A total of 314 mosques in Swat district have got geysers running on solar energy and over 30 solar power based water pumps under the UNDP-funded `Peace and Development Programme`, according to a spokesman for Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).“This is our first winter that we have warm water for ablutions,” Adil Shah, caretaker of `Allah O` Akbar` Mosque, Muhallah Dehrian, Charbagh in Swat, told Dawn on telephone.

He, however, said the facility had not been `very effective` due to shorter sunlight hours these days.

Solar panels, according to him, have been installed on the mosque`s rooftop from where energy is supplied to a 200-litre water geyser installed close to the specified ablutions place.

“It (solar-powered geyser) does not have any negative effect or anything to complain about as we always used cold water in winter for ablutions in the mosque,” said Ali Haider, in charge (administration) of Mian Koto Mosque, Charbagh.

Adnan Khan, a spokesman for PDMA, said a total of 347 solar-powered geysers with solar panels had been installed in mosques at the cost of Rs11.3 million and that basic health units, educational institutions and a couple of gurdwaras (worship places of Sikhs) also received solar-powered geysers.

Besides, with an investment of Rs35.7 million, some 58 water pumps energised by solar power have also been installed. The selection of mosques and other places for installing the pumps was made through a survey in which need assessment was carried out by the staff of a local nongovernmental organisation, said the caretaker of a mosque.

“We have been exposed to something really unheard of. We had heard of cars running on batteries instead of petrol, but this is for the first time that we have seen the practical demonstration of making electricity from sunshine,” said Mr Haider of Mian Koto Mosque.

News Details: Dawn Dot Com

Nokia and Djuice join hand to enhance Pakistani developers

Karachi: With a vision to cater to the lower segment of the market, Nokia Pakistan and Djuice have joined hands to start a series of Developer Workshops that aim to provide training focused on S40 devices.
The first workshop in this chain was held at Telenor regional office where Tony Torp, Nokia External Trainer shared the details of development tools available to develop mobile apps for S40 devices and gave hands-on training to the participants.

Giving his views on the workshop, Tony Torp said, “Yet again it was wonderful to interact with the enthusiastic developers of Karachi, shared with them the S40 background and provide hands-on training on the tools available to work on mobile apps for S40 platform. The developers clearly understood why it will be beneficial for them and their community to contribute towards content development and they all took keen interest in the workshop.”

Expressing her views, Rabia Azfar Nizami, Business Development Manager EDX, Near East, NOKIA said, “I appreciate the interest level of Karachi’s developer community to learn and excel in their chosen field. Nokia has been organizing these kinds of workshops for developers in Pakistan for the past 1 year. As part of the chain that Nokia has initiated in Pakistan to provide new opportunities to the local developers, this time around Nokia partnered with Telenor to offer training for S40 platform. The workshop was geared towards channelizing the strengths of local developers and providing them a rich bundle of resources to develop more locally relevant mobile apps for S40 devices which are most popular among the masses in our country.”

News Details: The News Tribe

COMSATS Trained Visually Impaired Students

COMSATS Internet Services (CIS) in partnership with Directorate of Special Education & Social Welfare concluded a 6-week web design training course to a group of 25 visually impaired students at National Library and Research Center (NLRC), Islamabad.

The training was conducted from January 2nd, 2012 to February 10th, 2012 at the library by Manager Software of CIS, Mr. Abid Rizvi.

The training covered many web design topics including HTML, CSS, page layouts, Notepad as editor, Dreamweaver, Firebug, domain registration & hosting, and website update and maintenance.

The 6-week training was concluded by a certificate distribution ceremony at NLRC where Director General Special Education & Social Welfare, Mr. Syed Mustafain Kazmi was the chief guest.

Other guests included Mr. Asim Shahryar Husain, CEO, COMSATS Internet Services, and Ms. Munazza Gilani, Manager, Sightsavers Pakistan.

On the occasion CEO CIS highlighted that mission of COMSATS is to use technology for social benefit through programs such as telehealth and training and it is a proud moment for COMSATS that it has trained these visually impaired students to be able to design websites sitting at home.

News Details: ProPakistani

PM Approves USF Projects in Balochistan and Sindh

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, approved two projects to provide basic telephony and data services in Balochistan and broadband services in interior Sindh. The meeting also decided to initiate more telecom related projects in Balochistan to improve the telecom services in the province.

Prime Minister also laid emphasis on initiation of more developmental projects, especially in Balochistan using technologies like optic fiber, microwave, satellite and telecom excellence centers. Prime Minister also directed to conduct training for people living in un-served areas so that direct and indirect employment opportunities can be created for them and digital divide can be bridged. He urged the Fund to enhance equitable services to all segments of the society and also ensure that funds are used economically as well as prudently.

The meeting was informed that the rural telecom project in Mastung Lot, basic telephony and data services will be provided to a population of 74,831 people which reside in 102 muzas. Mastung Lot consists of Mastung, Nushki and Ziarat districts. In the broadband project of Southern Telecom Region-V, the broadband services would be provided in 73 towns and cities in 10 districts namely Ghotki, Jacobabad, Kambar Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Khairpur, Larkana, Naushahro feroze, Shaheed Benazir Abad (Nawabshah), Shikarpur and Sukkur. The project aims at provision of 78,000 broadband connections in these districts. It was informed that in addition to this, 206 Educational Broadband Centers (EBCs) would be established in higher-secondary schools and colleges and 93 Community Broadband Centres (CBCs) for those who cannot afford to have their own personal computers.

The board noted that USF had made immense progress under the rural telecom programme as USF has provided basic telephony and data services in more than 3,500 muzas. Broadband services have been provided in 256 2nd and 3td tier cities and towns along with providing almost 334,000 broadband connections and establishing 943 EBCs and 291 CBCs. In the optic fiber programme, around 3,960 kms of optic fiber cable has been laid to connect 58 un-served tehsils and towns. To take broadband internet to the villages, USF has launched another Programme. The pilot project of that programme is also under implementation aiming to bring the most modern e-Services through broadband, down to the village level. With these achievements, USF has created a success story for the public-private partnership entities nationally and internationally, the meeting was told.

News Details: ProPakistani

GOD gifted Potential in Pakistan

There are always two kinds of ways which people follow: the negative and the positive. In life, some think negatively but people who take out the positive out of negative, take out opportunities are those who will lead to success.

Below are points which will highlight Pakistan in a positive way:

This country is God gifted. It has unlimited minerals be it gas, coal and immeasurable oil that hasn’t even been excavated yet. People don’t realize how rich our country is. We have 10 kinds of marble. India only has 3 to which it does 10 arab dollars worth of exports. We have copper and gold reserves from Baluchistan and Waziristan to Chitral. Our reserves of gold and copper only are worth 260 arab dollars in Baluchistan. Waziristan has more than that. Our coal reserves in Thar have so much worth that it’s more than of Saudia Arabia and Iran combined. There is so much energy that we won’t be having problems of load shedding.

We can export gas and precious stones such as rubies, emeralds found in Swat which are not available in the world. They are worth 50 arab dollars.

We have lands which are ready to be sown. If we work on our agriculture, make it grow and invest in our farmers, we can sell wheat to the world. Our manpower is terrific.

All Pakistanis go overseas and excel in every field. 70% population of Pakistan is under age 30. Our biggest asset and engine of growth are all young Pakistanis. 6 million of them are living overseas. Their annual income is 200 arab dollars. They are freshly educated. They are waiting to come here. Whenever we fix our system, end corruption, set our governance system they will bring in their dollars and investment. They will bring the country on top and create jobs. Whenever overseas Pakistanis find a good system, they reach so high. We have a hunger to reach success.

If you tell the people you are world beaters and no one can compete with you they will live their life with more potential than expected. On the other hand, if you tell people you are not worth it, you are nothing then they will have no energy, who will they compete? Pakistan has talent, human resources. Even without system we have talents like Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan who were world champions for 10 years.

In 1960s, high tech physics lab at Government College was made here and not made anywhere in Asia. In 1970s, we produced ball point pens which were not available anywhere in Asia at that time. We were the first Asians in the 1980s to produce silicone in Pakistan. We were so ahead of time.

We invested 20 arab dollars in new technology and defense. We haven’t applied them in other areas. If we apply our technology with private sector just imagine the nuclear technology and rocket science we will have.
Pakistan is fighting and will reach its true worth slowly but steadily. Everyone is wishing for a brighter and better Pakistan. With God’s blessing we will be reaching our potential very soon.

Blog Link: Doodh Pattiblogs

Burraq: Pakistan’s First Domestic Made Armed Drone

Pakistan has made tremendous strides in Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV)  development. Mukhbir, Uqaab, Jasoos are just a few of the UAVs developed.

Pakistan in fact entered into a deal with the Italian firm, Selex-Galileo, for the licensed local production of UAV aircraft at the Kamra Aeronautical facilities. Falco UAV was built in these facilities and now the Air Force is looking to provide it firepower in the form of miniature missiles.

The Pakistan Navy also acquired rotorcraft drones from foreign sources while the Pakistan Army has been working to develop partnerships with China and has provided incentives to local manufacturers to continue developing advanced platforms within the country.

First news of Pakistan starting work on Predator-like drones surfaced in 2009, when it was revealed that NESCOM was flight testing a new design aircraft which was to be equipped with laser designator and laser guided missiles. Now it seems that all the pieces of the Pakistani drone development program puzzle are coming together. Sources suggest that it will be in flight by early 2012.

The Pakistani UAV program is just one indicator of the potential of this country. A domestic UAV program is beneficial in numerous ways. Firstly, it will aid the local manufacturing industry and all the money that would have flowed out of the country stays here.

The Burraq UAV is an example of how we can achieve whatever we set our minds to. In a world where foreign powers are looking to gain the upper hand when ever possible, such technological programs will work to keep them at bay while keeping our people safe.


News Details: ProPakistani

Asad Mahmood develops Pakistan’s 6th powerful telescope

Okara: Asad Mahmood, from the city Okara, Punjab, wants to see the universe. It was his dream that inspired him to see the moon and stars, which tends him to develop the 5th most powerful telescope of the country.

His father gifted him telescope in his childhood. This toy inspired Mahmood a lot, and he thought of making a telescope. He faced financial problems when he started making the telescope but he continued to achieve his goal, which took six months.

On his first attempt the lens broke, but his spirit did not let him down, and he succeeded at last.
He has already seen Mars and Jupiter and also captured snaps of different planets with the help of this telescope. He told that he can see anything 300 times bigger than its original size.
Mahmood is a hard worker who believes in the power of science, but due to financial problems he works as a tutor to support his family. Now he has a plan to make Pakistan’s largest telescope.
Mera Passion Pakistan`s Video

News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistan’s first biological treatment plant

Majeed Keerio is a small village in the outskirts of Nawabshah, where local residents for the last 700 years have mainly worked as farmers or livestock herders.

A few years ago, through the prime minister’s programme, a drainage system was constructed in the village. Suddenly the village’s narrow streets were lined with open drains that were meant to take away dirty waste water from homes into proper waste water treatment plants. This never happened. Due to mismanagement and corruption, these open drains soon became clogged with plastic bags, over flowing every time it rained and pooling up outside homes.

Fed-up of these pools of stagnant water, a site for countless diseases and dangers, a local NGO decided to take action. Ameen Keryo, is the CEO of Sindhica Reforms Society, and with help from UN Habitat and WWF-Pakistan he set up Pakistan’s first biological waste water treatment plant. A low energy, completely natural water treatment plant, which is in wide use in Australia and Europe, has finally been introduced in Pakistan.

Although, hoping to do good with this treatment plant, Keryo and his teams still face the ire of villagers who complain that drains still get blocked and overflow into their homes. Keryo’s response is that it is not his NGO’s responsibility to clean up the drainage system rather the local government must step in.

Although water is being treated, there is a need for communication with local government and villagers to fix a drainage system that was constructed and left to decay in Majeed Keerio.

In the meantime, Keryo and his team, continue to treat as much waste water as they can from the village into clean water enough to water two acres of farming fields. They have also set the groundwork for 14 more biological treatment plants across Pakistan and hope to have them competed by 2013.

News Details:  Dawn Dot Com

Family of Peshawar builds plane by its own

Islamabad: Family of Peshawar have built a plane by it’s own without any government help, due to his passion and boost the glory of Pakistan in the world.

As per detail, Qazi Sajjad, the motor mechanic has the Tamgah-e-Imtiaz while his brother Qazi Tuffail got President medal from the government of Pakistan.

Qazi Sajjad defined about the journey of making the plane and said that they had inspired by a small plane which was used in a James Bond movie. He said that they started the work with a model plane with bamboo and paper then he continued to develop that model and then motorized it.

Qazi Tuffail visited Austria to get a proper training and also sent a Rotax engine, which was specially designed for the plane like this. He described that after installation of Rotax engine we were all really excited that two of us flew together. He described about the usage of this plane and said that this was actually very useful for the military, or as an agriculture plane to spray and fertilize the land.

He said that the police and army in western countries use affordable planes like this all the time while during floods, this plane can also be very useful.

Video at "Mera Passion Pakistan"

News Details: The News Tribe

Pakistani wins world Technology Network Award at United Nations

Dr. Athar Osama

Islamabad: Science Policy scholar and practitioner and the founder of Muslim-Science.Com, Dr. Athar Osama won the 2011 World Technology Award for Science and Innovation Media and Journalism category , in a gala “black tie” ceremony at the United Nations.

The Awards were announced from the stage by James P. Clark, Founder and Chairman of the World Technology Network (“The WTN”) and Poppy Harlow, Anchor, CNNMoney.com. At the same time, Clark officially inducted those who were selected as Award finalists into the WTN membership as newly elected fellows.

Pakistani Dr. Osama joins the ranks of over 1000 fellows across 60 different countries that include individuals such as Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the internet), Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook), Larry Page and Sergei Brin (Founders of Google), Vice President Al Gore, and Prime Minister Tony Blair.

World Technology Network is a curated community of some of the most creative and leading scholars and practitioners as well as corporates in various disciplines of science and technology and related fields (such as media, ethics, finance, and public policy) selected by their peers as doing some of the most innovative work of potential long-term impact in the world.

Founded in 2001, the World Technology Network has made annual awards in up to 20 different categories for individuals (and 10 corporate categories). Each year, WTN identifies – through an extensive vetting process nominees for WTN Awards and then selects 5 (or six) finalists who are then inducted as fellows of WTN.

The Winners in each category are announced in an Oscar-style gala event.

Dr. Athar Osama won his award for his ground breaking contributions to science and innovation policy in the Islamic World – in particular through a ingenuous and courageous use of new social media and  science journalism to create an awareness of and change mindsets about science and innovation policy in the Islamic World.

News Details: The News Tribe

UN picks Pakistan as permanent member of UN scientific body

United Nations: The UN General assembly has unanimously decided to appoint Pakistan as a permanent member of the UN Scientific Committee (UNSCEAR), a top international body dealing with nuclear radiation.

A press release of Pakistan Mission to the UN said the 193-member Assembly’s decision is an acknowledgement of Pakistan’s technological advancement in applications of the peaceful uses of nuclear radiations in the fields of health, agriculture, environment and research & development.

The UN Scientific Committee, which was established in 1955, consists of 27 Member States and is based in Vienna, Austria. Pakistan had been an observer of this committee since 2007.

The committee members are designated to provide scientists to serve as members of the committee which holds formal meetings annually and submits a report to the General Assembly, the body was established solely to “define precisely the present exposure of the population of the world to ionizing radiation.”

News Details: The News

The Pakistani innovator: Dr Umar Saif

If you thought innovation was a word not associated with Pakistan , you would be very wrong. This year, the MIT Technology Review, one of the world’s most prestigious technology publications, included Pakistani Dr Umar Saif, in their global list of the top 35 innovators under 35.

Thirty-two year old Saif, currently an associate professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), now shares this honor with an elite club including, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jonathan Ive of Apple, and the co-founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Saif was propped into the limelight for creating BitMate, which he calls the “poor man’s broadband system” and SMSall.pk, which enables mass SMSes to be sent out. BitMate and SMSall.pk,were both developed by Dr Saif and a team of his students at LUMS. 

BitMate,allows different users in the same area, to pool the bandwidth of their connections to reduce download times, typically by half. More than 4 billion SMSes have been sent using SMSall.pk, by around 2.7 million users. It is now Pakistan’s largest SMS social network. Major political parties, NGOs, schools, and corporations use this platform.

Currently, Saif is an Associate Professor in the Computer Science department at LUMS where he leads a team of students in the Dritte initiative,which aims to create technology that will foster development.
Dr Saif, is now working with this team of students on taking SMSall to the next level. They are working on speech systems that will allow for mass voice messaging. Saif believes it is an essential step in a country where many cannot read or write. Other platforms that Dr Saif has initiated include Geodost.tv and iSamaa.tv, which are powered by SeeNreport, a platform developed in an attempt to give a boost to citizen journalism in Pakistan.

Saif has also founded one of Pakistan’s first start-up incubators in Lahore, Pakistan, called the Saif Center of Innovation .

“Not everyone can be a superstar here,” conceded Saif. “A system needs to be in place where every member of the team can be productive.” MIT, he insists works like a well-oiled machine. The researchers have proper funding in place, the strong student body and the availability of your peers means, one knows where to go with one’s ideas.

The vice chancellor of LUMS:  "Saif’s work demonstrates not only the potential for innovation in technology for development but also the level of enterprise and expertise that already exists within Pakistan and the larger developing world."


Details: Dawn News