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Pakistanis buy Indian DTH connections illegally
NEW DELHI: Thousands of households in Pakistan, particularly in the Lahore area, are illegally buying subscriptions to various Indian direct-to-home platforms by illegally transferring money to India through ATMs in Bihar and adjoining areas.
The connections are bought through some operators in Pakistan who get the PIN numbers of the DTH connections from some Indian locals.
A report on the Pakistani website apnatime.com origin quotes analysts as saying that there is no proper way of restricting signals in the adjoining areas or countries as DTH has a wide area of reception. “From the service end, with so many means of transferring money, it has become even difficult to stop the gray channel; on the unofficial side, no company discourages it as it brings more revenue to the company”, the website says.
The equipment for these services is easily available in various parts of Pakistan including Hall Road in Lahore for a few thousand rupees. These are mostly purchased by cable operators who sell Indian channels to their customers as there is a huge demand for them in Pakistan, though some individuals have also bought these dishes.
With the rise of LCD and LED sale in Pakistan, the demand for high definition content has increased and people are no more finding the conventional cable very much according to their requirement. Therefore, demand for DTH equipment is rising. Since, there is no DTH operator in Pakistan working at the moment, therefore, people are jumping toward their favourite Indian alternatives.
The Indian newspaper “The Telegraph” had earlier reported that money is deposited into the bank accounts of the locals in the Bihar and its adjoining districts. The money is withdrawn through ATM cards and is used for purchasing the coupons of Direct-To-Home (DTH) services such as Tata Sky or Dish TV.
The PIN numbers of these coupons are then sent to some “Barde Sahib” who, according to the local police of Bihar, resides in Pakistan.
Indian police says these bank accounts are opened in the name of poor local residents of the district who get Rs 5,000 per month for letting brokers use their accounts and ATM cards.
According to the investigators, the PIN numbers of these coupons are sent to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries through SMS and Emails.
The Indian Police has arrested some local shopkeepers who sell DTH recharge coupons. One of the shopkeepers said he sold Rs 1.5 million worth of coupons. Another shopkeeper sold Rs 400,000 worth of recharge coupons in just 10 days.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
