Global Voices: Social media users are trying to combat harassment in Pakistan — but will state institutions do their part?. “In most countries around the world, gender-based harassment is an old problem. But in the digital era, with hashtag movements such as #MeToo, and social media platforms where evidence of harassment can go viral, the balance of power between harassers and their targets appears to be shifting.”
Pakistan
Daily Times: After Zamindar, PUCIT launches digital archives of Urdu paper Inqilab
Daily Times: After Zamindar, PUCIT launches digital archives of Urdu paper Inqilab. “The Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT) has launched digital archives of Inqilab, a famous Lahore-based Urdu newspaper started in 1922…. The college had also launched the digital archives of Zamindar earlier this year as part of a larger effort to make a digital library of historical documents and make it available to public at large free of cost.”
New Delhi Times: Rising Attacks on Pakistani Journalists, Social Media
New Delhi Times: Rising Attacks on Pakistani Journalists, Social Media. “Growing assaults against social media activists and journalists in Pakistan have alarmed defenders of free speech and human rights activists before the July 25 general election. There are also increasing allegations the military is also behind some of these incidents to stifle dissent. The latest incident occurred Tuesday when Gul Bukhari, who openly criticizes the military via social media and newspaper articles, was briefly abducted while she was on her way to participate in a television talk show in the eastern city of Lahore.”
British Library: Endangered Urdu Periodicals
British Library: Endangered Urdu Periodicals. “EAP839 produced digital images of rare Urdu periodicals from the 19th to the first half of the 20th century in order to preserve and make them available to researchers. During this period the project team has successfully produced 3,832 issues. Urdu journals played a significant role in the development of Urdu literature, especially fiction, religion, history, poetry and culture of the South Asian region as a whole, particularly in Pakistan and India.” The material is not yet available online, but should be later this year.
BBC News: ‘Pakistan’s army tried to hack my Facebook’
BBC News: ‘Pakistan’s army tried to hack my Facebook’. “In December 2016 Diep Saeeda, an outspoken human rights activist from the Pakistani city of Lahore, received a short message on Facebook from someone she didn’t know but with whom she had a number of friends in common: ‘Hy dear.’ She didn’t think much of it and never got round to replying. But the messages weren’t coming from a fan of Mrs Saeeda’s activism – instead they were the start of a sustained campaign of digital attacks attempting to install malware on her computer and mobile phone to spy on her and steal her data.”
The Wire: A New Website Will Monitor Ceasefire Violations Along the India-Pakistan Border
The Wire: A New Website Will Monitor Ceasefire Violations Along the India-Pakistan Border. “With ceasefire violations across the India-Pakistan border continuing to escalate, experts are largely pessimistic on whether there will be any drop in the number of incidents, even as they agree that communication could be strengthened at the brigade and division level between the two armies. Experts were discussing the reasons for the rise in ceasefire violations at the launch of a new website, Indo-Pak Conflict Monitor, on Saturday. The website will be monitoring these violations on a daily basis from open source data, study the emerging patterns and act as a valuable repository. It will also be a resource for analysing the larger India-Pakistan conflict.”
Virtual reality to showcase old and unique heritage in Lahore: WCLA (Express Tribune)
Express Tribune: Virtual reality to showcase old and unique heritage in Lahore: WCLA. “The Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) has decided to use virtual reality (VR) technology to showcase the old and unique heritage of the walled city… The authority is developing its new website that will offer VR tours of different sites of the walled city, especially historical monuments. These VR tours will enable the people to see the walled city from anywhere in the world, a spokesperson of the WCLA told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.” Lahore is a city in Pakistan with a population of over 11 million people.
