Islamabad: Currently, many internet standards and government organizations are working on ICANN (Internet Cooperation for Assigned Names and Numbers) APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) and ISOC (Internet Society) all over the world.
Ministry of Information Technology organized a Workshop on the theme: “Internet Governance and Roles of its Stakeholders” on Thursday, February 19, 2015. The purpose of the Workshop was to have an integrate gathering of the stakeholders of “Internet Ecosystem” for the delivery of more convenient, citizen eccentric and cost effective public services and sharing information to strengthen relations with citizens, businesses, and other arms of government through secure & stable internet.
Experts from ICANN, ISOC, APNIC, CEOs & CIOs of ISP’s, IT & Telecom Companies, Academia, Scholars, Officials of Government Organizations, Civil Society and other dignitaries participated in the workshop. Ms. Anusha Rahman, Minister of State for Information Technology hosted the workshop whereas Federal Minister for Planning Development & Reforms, Mr. Ahsan Iqbal was the chief guest on the occasion. The workshop was divided into three sessions; (i) ICANN, Domain Name System and Internet Operations & Governance, (ii) Updates and New Developments (iii) Role of Internet Organizations in the Internet Ecosystem. The representatives of Internet Governing Bodies enlightened the audience on latest developments in the Internet Ecosystem and advancements in “Internet Governance”
Minister of State for Information Technology in her welcome note said that In the spirit of democratic governance, present government manifesto, and visionary approach, Government of Pakistan is giving very high priority to information and communications technologies (ICT) sector, particularly “Internet Governance system in the country”. Internet is playing an important role in the business growth and good governance, which leads to better performance of the public and private sectors of a country. Pakistan joined hands with ICANN to streamline its policies and action plans regarding Internet and its usage, in accordance with the guidelines provided by ICANN. Pakistan became an active Member of Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) to take part in the legislative process of ICANN and to get benefit from the resulting guiding principles in order to be in-line with the progress being made in this sphere. The Government of Pakistan has applied to ICANN for the IDN ccTLD dot Pakistan registry in Urdu and has initiated the process.
Anusha Rahman further commended the role of ISOC in the promotion of the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people around the globe and informed that we would like to participate & benefit from its facilitates for open development of standards, protocols, administration, and the technical infrastructure for the Internet, community development, education, and providing reliable information to the people of Pakistan.
Finally, in issues of the discourse around the subject in Pakistan, she emphasized on the cyber security issue and urged ICANN, APNIC, ISOC, relevant regional and international Internet bodies, and other stakeholders in private sector to play their role in trust building of the Internet users on “Internet Governance”. The users must have confidence that they are transacting in a digital environment which is free of spoofing, phishing, eavesdropping. The Government of Pakistan in view of such threats to users is bringing a comprehensive cyber crime legislation which is in final stages of enactment. The PECA Bill comprehensively addresses some of the most pressing issues related to cyber security. It is confidence of the end user, which will make “Internet Governance” structures more effective
