Minister of Information Technology (MoIT), Anusha Rehman has revealed that Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board has passed a resolution on Internet Registry پاکستان.
The local community of Pakistan will now be able to register and use internet domain names in native languages. This will help the citizens to access web pages in Urdu. In addition to making navigation easier, this will also be valuable in targeting local markets, non-English speaking internet users and for local promotions.
The e-Commerce market of Pakistan will also benefit from this development by eliminating the language barriers and reaching targeted customers.
Pakistan already has “.pk” domain name and dot پاکستان will be an important step towards creating digital Pakistan through local content. MoIT approved the request for internet registry پاکستان in consultation with stakeholders committee members from Academia, Civil Society, Internet Community, ISPAK, National Language Authorities, PASHA, PTA, Governments etc.
Pakistan has already successfully completed the preparation and evolution stages of ICANN Fast track for Integrated Delivery Network country-code Top-Level Domain (IDN ccTLDs). The minister appreciated the efforts of team MoIT, multi-stakeholder technical committee members on internet registry پاکستان and team NTC.
Established in 1988, ICANN is a not-for-profit partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the internet stable and secure. ICANN manages Domain Name System (DNS) and ensures that every internet address is unique and valid. A domain name comprises of two elements: before and after “the dot”. The part to the right of the dot, such as “com”, “net”, “org” or now “پاکستان”, is known as a “top-level domain” or TLD. The part before the dot is the domain name that you register.
National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) will be the manager for internet registry پاکستان.