STAFF REPORT IBD: The Ministry of IT has been actively working on the development of IDN ccTLD (Internationalized Domain Names) (country code Top-Level Domain). ICANN has approved the application for “???????.” and the delegation process, which includes specification of ccTLD structure and policies is under way.
Formation of the registry will enable all Pakistanis to register domain names in Urdu instead of traditional ASCII English, which currently is the only option available to Pakistanis. Establishing localized IDN ccTLD will not only promote development of localized contents but it will also be beneficial to masses, who can only read and write in Urdu.
In this context, the Center for Language Engineering, Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Science, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, has recently organized a workshop with an aim to provide a platform to all stakeholders to give their feedback and comments on policy issues related to IDN ccTLD in Pakistan.
Later, those who cannot attend the workshop in person, sent their feedback through the online survey form by April 19.
The comments and feedback will be collated and presented to the Ministry of IT as recommendations for the policy of Pakistan IDN ccTLD.