Version qalam-terms-2026-08d · Effective 25 August 2026 · Governing law: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Terms of use and service agreement
These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) constitute a legally binding agreement between the operator of the Qalam service (“Qalam”, “we”, “us”) and the individual who accepts an invitation to open a company workspace as owner (the “Owner”), acting for and on behalf of that company and all persons later invited into that workspace (together, the “Customer”). By ticking the acceptance box and joining, the Owner warrants authority to bind the Customer and agrees to these Terms in full.
1. Definitions
“Workspace” means an isolated company environment opened by Qalam on an invite-only basis. “Envelope” means a sending of a PDF for signature. “Signer” means a person named on an Envelope who acts from a private capability link and is not required to hold a Qalam account. “Record” means the file version sent, the list of persons asked, the timestamps, the signatures or declines captured, and any completion file Qalam produces for that Envelope. “Service” means the workspace, the sending and signing flows, and the Record.
2. Nature of the Service
Qalam provides a privately operated electronic-signature workspace. The Customer may upload a Portable Document Format file, name Signers, dispatch invitations through the Service, collect marks of signature or decline, and retain a Record. Workspaces are opened only by Qalam. There is no public registration. Each Workspace is confined to its own documents, Envelopes, members, and Records.
The Service is a system for creating, storing, and presenting electronic records of a signing workflow. It is offered as a simple electronic signature and audit-trail facility. It is software and hosting. It is not a law firm, not a notary, not a registrar, and not a court.
3. What Qalam is not, and does not warrant
Qalam is not a Certification Authority, licensed or otherwise. Qalam is not accredited by the Electronic Certification Accreditation Council (ECAC) established under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002. Qalam does not issue qualified, accredited, or advanced digital certificates, public-key infrastructure credentials, or smart-card identities. Nothing on the Service, including a completion file or a public verification page, shall be construed as a government stamp, an official attestation, or a certificate of the Federal Government, a Provincial Government, ECAC, or any other public body.
Qalam does not warrant that any particular Envelope, signature, or Record is valid, enforceable, registrable, stampable, admissible, or sufficient for any purpose, including without limitation a contract, a property dealing, a court proceeding, a bank, a regulator, or a counterpart. Whether an electronic signature or an electronic document satisfies the formalities required for a given instrument is a question of fact and law for the Customer and the Customer’s own counsel. Qalam gives no opinion on that question.
4. Pakistani law and the Customer’s own compliance
Electronic documents and electronic signatures may, in appropriate cases, be recognised under the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002, and may be considered with other evidence under the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order, 1984. Recognition is not automatic for every class of instrument. Certain dealings remain subject to the Registration Act, 1908, the Stamp Act, 1899 and provincial stamp laws, the Contract Act, 1872, the Companies Act, 2017, land and revenue laws, and other enactments that prescribe writing, witnesses, stamps, registration, or a particular form. The Customer alone is responsible for deciding whether the Service is suitable for a given document and for any stamp, registration, or other formality that the law requires.
The Customer shall comply with the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, applicable data-protection and secrecy obligations, and all other laws of Pakistan (and, if the Customer acts abroad, the laws of that place). Unlawful content, unauthorised access to another person’s data, and the sending of files the Customer has no right to circulate, are forbidden. Qalam’s provision of the Service does not transfer those duties to Qalam.
5. Authority and the Owner’s undertakings
The Owner represents that the Owner has power to bind the Customer; that the company name given to Qalam is accurate; and that the Owner will invite only persons who are entitled to act for the Customer. The Owner is responsible for the conduct of members and for the identity of Signers named on Envelopes. Passwords shall be kept confidential. The Customer shall notify Qalam if an Owner account is compromised.
6. Signers
A Signer acts from a private capability link. A Signer does not, by signing, become a member of the Workspace. The Customer is responsible for the accuracy of the names and particulars it supplies for invitation, for the wording of any consent presented to a Signer, and for any dispute with a Signer about whether that person intended to sign.
7. The Record
For each Envelope, Qalam stores the version of the file that was sent, who was invited, who signed or declined, and when those events were recorded by the Service. The Customer may download a finished file and a completion record where the Service produces them. Hashes, timestamps, and chained event logs, where present, are technical measures to describe what the Service stored. They are not a substitute for independent legal advice and they do not make Qalam a witness or an expert for any proceeding.
How the Customer tenders a Record to a counterpart, a bank, an auditor, or a court is the Customer’s act. Qalam has no duty to appear, certify, or testify, except as a competent court in Pakistan may later order and as Qalam is reasonably able to do from the data it then holds.
8. Acceptable use and isolation
The Customer shall send only files it is entitled to send. Each Workspace is shown only its own materials. Isolation is a property of the Service; the Customer is not asked to “attempt” or “refrain from attempting” access to another Workspace as a condition of honesty. Misuse of the Service, including flooding, malware, or the upload of unlawful material, is a breach of these Terms.
9. Intellectual property
Qalam and its licensors own the Service, the software, the marks, and the look of the product. The Customer retains whatever rights it already has in the files it uploads. The Customer grants Qalam a limited licence to host, process, display, and produce Records solely to operate the Service for that Customer.
10. Data, confidentiality, and security
Qalam will treat Workspace contents as confidential to that Customer, subject to law, these Terms, and the minimum processing needed to run the Service. Member identities, Owner identity, and any private address used to open or operate a Workspace shall not be published by Qalam on a public page, a verification page, marketing material, or any other surface visible outside that Workspace. No system is free of risk. The Customer accepts that transmission over the internet and storage on computers may fail, be delayed, or be attacked, and that Qalam does not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation.
11. Disclaimer of warranties
To the maximum extent permitted by the laws of Pakistan, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranty of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, quiet enjoyment, non-infringement, and accuracy of Records. Qalam does not warrant that the Service will meet the Customer’s legal, commercial, or evidentiary needs.
12. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Qalam shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive loss, or for loss of goodwill, data, business, or opportunity, arising out of the Service or these Terms, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility.
To the same extent, Qalam’s remaining liability, if any, is excluded in full, save only for liability that cannot be excluded under Pakistani law, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence where such exclusion is void.
13. Indemnity
The Customer shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Qalam and its operators, officers, and contractors from and against any claim, loss, damage, cost, and expense arising out of: (a) the Customer’s files, Envelopes, or invitations; (b) a dispute with a Signer, counterpart, or regulator about a document sent through the Service; (c) the Customer’s breach of these Terms or of law; or (d) any representation by the Customer that Qalam is accredited, governmental, or that a signature is automatically valid.
14. Suspension and duration
These Terms begin when the Owner accepts them and continue while the Workspace remains open. Qalam may suspend or withdraw access where it reasonably believes there is a breach of these Terms, a legal requirement, or a risk to the Service or to another customer. Completed Records already produced remain subject to clauses 7, 11, 12, and 13.
15. Changes
Qalam may revise these Terms by publishing a new version on this page. Continued use after the effective date of a revision constitutes acceptance. The version identifier above is the text the Owner accepted if no later version has been agreed.
16. Force majeure
Qalam is not liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including failure of networks, hosting, power, or delivery providers, or act of God, war, or government order.
17. Governing law and forum
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Pakistani courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of these Terms or the Service, without prejudice to any mandatory forum a statute may require.
18. General
If a provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues. These Terms are the entire agreement on the Service and supersede prior discussions. A failure to enforce is not a waiver. The Customer may not assign the Workspace without Qalam’s written consent. Formal notice under these Terms is given by publication on this page.
Acceptance of these Terms is recorded against the Workspace when the Owner joins.