Software Houses In Karachi

It was a peaceful area of Defence. The quiet of the area did not disclose whether any work or activity was taking place inside the house. But there were many vehicles standing outside the house. The door used to open automatically when someone approached, and people carrying black leather bags were going inside. I also approached the door, and rang the bell. I introduced myself through the small, wall-mounted speaker and the guard inside opened the door for us electronically. Passing through a metal detector, we went inside the building. Right from the main entrance it was clear that latest technology had been put to use here. As guests, we had to go through various security procedures as well as a long wait at the guest room. Finally, we were called. In a large, well decorated room, an officer was sitting, doing some work on his laptop. Without looking up he motioned for us to sit down. He kept fiddling with his laptop for a long time, and then finally said in a cold voice “So you are his brother! What reservations do you have against this job?”
This story began a few weeks ago. In a leading English newspaper, a very attractive advertisement was published by a software house. They required people studying computer science at university level, and in the final year of their studies. Only outstanding students were asked to apply. The most attractive aspects of the job offer were that no prior experience was required, and a pay package was offered which no other software house could offer. According to the advertisement, every employee would be given Rupees 50,000/- per month, an 800 cc car and 100 litres of petrol per month too. Such an advertisement could be the realization of the dreams of any computer science student who pay heavy fees and concentrate on their studies for want of a better future. Amongst such students was an intelligent boy who was studying computer science at one of Karachi’s leading universities, and had successfully got this job after his interview with this software house. He was trying to learn driving so that he could get the car that the company had offered him. However, earth moved from under his feet when he was informed about the ‘actual job description’ after a few days. The boy belonged to a poor family, and his weak heart made him continue the work quietly. However, his heart was full of fear because he knew that the job he was doing, was simply unacceptable in the society, and in real life, no one looked at such work with an approving eye. Some of the work could be included in the list of cyber crimes. The boy quietly told me about his new job, and sought help. Upon my suggestion, he told his manager that his brother has some reservations on his job, and wanted to meet him. It was a result of this conversation that I was sitting across this suited and booted manager who was asking me about my reservations in his cold voice. All this while I was quite upset by the deep quiet around the place and the movement of mysterious people there. Whoever we came across, met in a mechanical way, without any smiles or talk. Those who talked were having a very cold and coarse attitude. In addition, various security cameras installed all over the place made the atmosphere even heavier. Thats why when the manager asked me the question in his cold voice, I already had drops of sweat slipping across my forehead. I made my tone very humble and said:-
“Sir, we are religious people, as is evident from our dress and attire. Then how is it possible that my brother makes websites that are not considered ‘good’? He is too young, if he indulges into such things, how badly would it affect his own character?”
The manager replied angrily,
“You are implying that we are not Muslims, we are not good, we are the society’s vice?”
What all we had to listen to, what threats we received and what embarrassment we had to face to get rid of this man of black suit, black heart and black tongue is not important. What the manager said was that they are so powerful, that they can kidnap anyone from their homes and no one can dare do anything against them. Another interesting thing was the use of high technology just like it is shown in movies. For example, when we got up to move out of the room, we had to face another difficulty. The door through which we had entered was no more there. For a few seconds we kept looking around for a door and the manager enjoyed this moment, and then suddenly a wall mounted painting moved aside silently, and the door appeared.
After getting the boy out of the software house, I investigated the matter further and found that neither the boy is alone in his predicament, nor such a software house is unique. There are dozens of computer engineers in Karachi, who have been black mailed by such software houses. These computer engineers from Karachi who are now settled in different parts of the world, have made a forum on the internet and discussing as to where are we heading. I am providing the link to this forum so that the readers can themselves see the details and names of these software houses:-
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ku-dcs/message/19718
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ku-dcs/message/19739
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ku-dcs/message/19744
To have access to this forum of Pakistan’s computer engineers, it is necessary to get yourself registered here, only then would you be able to access to this strange discussion.
The reason that boy wanted out of that dream salary and from the software house of the posh area of Defence, was adult websites, commonly known as ‘nude websites’. These websites on the internet are run by companies of the West, and the filth contained in them also belongs to the West. These websites are updated on a daily basis, and if this task is performed in the West, quite heavy expenditure would accrue. That is why hundreds of companies which run these websites turn to Asia, where the material is provided and it is put on the internet by the cheap Asian labour force. It was India which took the lead in this regard, but as Pakistan is also appearing on the IT scene, it is also treading this path to make profits. The software houses pick fresh computer engineers right from the universities. It is not a legal crime to run adult websites in the West, but it is still morally wrong. Therefore, any computer engineer working on such a project would also demand additional money. West has special rules for such websites, which show that this is not work as usual, therefore the cost of carrying it out is also higher. Whereas in Pakistan, such projects are done on quite cheaper rates. Even these cheaper rates are a dream for the poor Pakistani engineers. If the matter was restricted to adult websites, it might have been digested, though this is also a crime under Pakistani rules. But there is another side of this business which eats up the smiles of the employees and keeps them under constant anxiety. Software houses carrying out such work usually hire the brightest of the lot, and then enter into a one year contract with them. The employees cannot leave until they have completed one year at their job. When the employee is fully engaged, he is first put to the task of updating adult websites. People who argue are convinced, telling them that its perfectly legal, and that they cannot hope to get such a lucrative salary elsewhere. It is true that their salaries are truly high, and are paid timely. It is not difficult to update adult websites or to develop a new one, but these tasks are given at the beginning. Afterwards, different types of essays are also assigned to them. The ‘business’ of writing essays is also strange. On the internet, there are hundreds of websites which offer essays or theses, getting paid through credit cards. The college and university students of Europe refer to these websites. Whereas the European companies running these websites refer to the Asian companies running software houses which can perform these tasks. In Karachi, these tasks are performed by the same software houses which also update and develop adult websites. The Pakistani students developing adult websites are then given these essay projects in the second phase. To meet these Pakistani IT professionals busy in doing such jobs against their will, you need to log into this forum:-
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ku-dcs/message/19808
http://www.itouchp.com
Involved in wrongdoing, these software houses in the third phase get people to do something which makes people sweat. This involves hacking other peoples’ IDs, stealing information from the internet and stealing corporate information from the internet and delivering it to their business competitors. The clients requesting such tasks do not belong to Pakistan, instead they belong to the West. The aim of all this is to gain advantage over business competitors after knowing their business secrets, or to harm these companies. It is a serious crime in the financial world, and tops the list of cyber crimes. Software houses performing such tasks are always in need of manpower because their workers, in spite of drawing heavy salaries, escape at the first opportunity. The affected Pakistani computer engineers say that the employees of such software houses are strictly monitored, and their actions and movements are observed. Their phone calls, emails and their computers are constantly checked. Every employee is briefed about the policy of ‘live and let live’, and if someone tried to act smart, he would face severe consequences. I also had to listen to similar threats when I had gone to that software house posing as that student’s brother. There are software houses in Karachi which have more than one offices, and every office carries out a different job. Some of these offices do exist physically, but not on papers. Some of such software houses have been sealed in the past, the details of which are given in the following link:-
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ku-dcs/message/19739