Category: Digital Media

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Kashmir social media ban

A ban on usage of communication outlets, namely social media, is to be decried in any nation as it obstructs freedom of expression, which is a universal basic right even though some countries may not recognise it as so. We condemned the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority when it enforced a YouTube ban between September 2012 and September 2016. Now the Indian government has blocked the use of 22 social media websites for one month in Indian-occupied Kashmir. There is seldom respite from governmental micromanagement, especially when it comes to freedom of expression to disagree with the policies of a government here or across the border.

Although the Indian government attempted to act responsibly by claiming the recent torture video circulating on social media was unverified and undermined the interest of the state, the ban is a violation of not only the former but a violation of people’s right to seek information. We recall a similar ban by India in September 2016 in alleged attempts to suppress news coming out of Kashmir. The latest move is an attempt to curtail any uprisings, as one side of the battle wants to stop the oppression of the people of Kashmir, who will now be further isolated from the world.

It is not the role of a government to censor published information; fact checking is best left to the citizens to judge and compare information themselves. A ban on social media inhibits people from obtaining useful knowledge and different world perspectives that allow for open-mindedness and tolerance. Although India had been investigating the authenticity of the released video, it responded with this ban, citing the Indian Telegraph Act.

Social media has played monumental roles in liberating oppressed Arab peoples in 2011, and it seems the Indian government is simply trying to overturn any such ambitions of the people of Kashmir at this time.

The Express Tribune

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PPF concerned over the massive crackdown on Belarusian media

Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), in a letter to Andrei Kobyakov , Prime Minister Republic of Belarus, expressed serious concern over the raid on independent broadcaster Belsat TV in Minsk, detained one employee, a videographer on March 25 and the massive crackdown on media .

PPF Secretary General Owais Aslam Ali urged the government of Belarus, to end the massive crackdown on media and stifle the exercise of freedom of expression, including the right to share and receive information.

According to Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), when raid was occurred the station coverage of nationwide protests against a tax on the unemployed. Belsat TV Authorities reportedly detained, seized camera and audio equipment in the raid.

The protest which first started in February 2017 across multiple cities came in response to a tax that penalises against Belarusians those work less than 183 days a year, it targets those do not participants in state’s economy, nicknamed the “social parasite tax”.

According to the BAJ, nearly 100 journalists across the country have reportedly faced detention in connection with attempts to cover the protests since they started.

Although the tax was introduced in a 2015 presidential declaration, got attention when suggesting two more demographics earlier this year that would be targeted under the tax, Belarusians who had worked abroad for years and housewives with children under seven years old.  Initially led to peaceful protests in major regional centres, crackdown was started when protest observed in small cities.

Charges against detained journalists included “violating the procedure for organising or holding a mass event”, “minor hooliganism” and “violating the procedure for production and distribution of mass media products”.  BAJ reported 123 cases of violations of journalists since the month of March 2017.

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‘PTA lacks manpower, resources to monitor online content’

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told a Senate committee on Wednesday that it lacked the human and financial resources to monitor and control objectionable content online.

Instead, PTA Chairman Dr. Ismail Shah stressed the need for developing better relations with social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to ensure better monitoring and control of blasphemous content.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology about initiatives taken to check blasphemous content on social media, the chairman said there was no way to block 100pc of objectionable content on the internet, suggesting the localisation of content for Pakistan along the lines of Youtube.pk as an alternative.

ANP Senator Shahi Syed, who chairs the committee, directed PTA to increase their manpower, if necessary, to monitor content on the internet, particularly on social media.

He said the committee realised the importance of freedom of expression, but at the same time cautioned internet users to refrain from misusing that freedom.

Mr Syed said committee members supported government initiatives to ask the executives of Facebook and Twitter to help root out people who posted blasphemous material on social media sites from anywhere in the world. Members also urged the media to spread awareness of the positive use of internet among citizens.

“Information technology is the most rapidly evolving industry. Pakistan needs to progress as other countries are increasingly relying on IT for economic growth,” Dr Shah said.

Drawing a comparison with other countries, the PTA chairman informed members that in most other countries, blasphemy was not a major concern.

“In Malaysia, the government prefers that Internet users should be free to view content online. In Saudi Arabia, online blasphemy is not a major concern either,” the PTA chief said.

However, he maintained that these countries had developed a good liaison with social media platforms to manage content, if required.

He said Pakistan was 15th country on the list of countries who had sent requests to block access to content on Facebook, adding that these requests were expected to rise in the future.

PTI Senator Shibli Faraz asked whether the recently passed cybercrime law was sufficient to check content on the internet, to which State Minister for IT Anusha Rehman responded that a stringent law was needed to monitor blasphemous and other objectionable content.

She argued that the internet was bound by Pakistani culture, traditions, religion and the Constitution, adding that the government would not allow it to be “hijacked” by NGOs in the name of freedom of expression.

“The law against cyber crimes which was passed does not constitute even 40pc of the draft the ministry had prepared,” the minister told the Senate committee.

Dawn

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‘PTA be allowed to block all objectionable websites’

ISLAMABAD: The ministry of religious affairs asked security agencies concerned on Thursday to allow Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block all websites containing blasphemous, anti-state and/or objectionable content as soon as possible.

The request was forwarded during an inter-ministerial meeting here.

An official, who attended the meeting, said that the meeting was attended by officials of ministries of interior, information technology as well as the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

During the meeting, the ministry asked security agencies to give clearance to PTA to block all such websites without any further delay.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that before blocking these websites, security agencies would investigate the people who put such “hate material on the internet, their purpose” and locate their operational base.

Terming the whole process a lengthy one, officials representing the religious ministry said that giving PTA clearance to block any website would certainly take time.

Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousuf addressed a press conference after the meeting, urging the government and departments concerned to quickly give clearance to the PTA to block all websites containing hate material.

Recently, Yousuf said, there had been a surge in the number of websites containing blasphemous content.

He said that while considering the severity of the issue, the ministry held a meeting with officials of ministries concerned and PTA, recommending blocking such websites “on a war footing”.

“The content on these websites is defaming our religion, causing unrest and might lead to sectarian violence in the country,” he insisted.

The ministry of religious affairs had set up a special monitoring/complaint cell in 2013 to monitor websites containing blasphemous, objectionable, pornography, biased, anti-state, sectarian content on social media as well as on internet.

According to the monitoring cell, the ministry had received 8,670 complaints against the appearance of blasphemous content on social media.

The ministry kept PTA in the loop and subsequently action was taken against 700 websites containing objectionable content.

“At least 565 websites have so far been blocked,” he said

“Our responsibility is to point out blasphemous content on social media and internet and inform the competent authority to block (all such) websites,” he said.

The Express Tribune

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Petition against bloggers filed on basis of news in media, IHC told

ISLAMABAD: Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Wednesday while hearing petitions against blasphemous contents on social media said that this issue could affect security and integrity of Pakistan.

The Ministry of Interior secretary sought some time for submitting a detailed report while the IHC bench said that the court, in the light of the report, would decide a temporary ban on social media.

During Wednesday’s proceeding, the court reiterated the inclusion of ISI in JIT as an official of the agency told the court that they had the capacity to block such pages. Legal counsel in the main writ petition, Tariq Asad, advocate, told the court that one of the bloggers, Ahmed Waqas Goraya, had contacted a Pakistani journalist and Goraya in his interviews to the foreign news channels said that he was not connected to the blasphemous contents. “We filed this petition on the basis of news in the media. Law enforcement agencies have to investigate this matter keeping in view that no innocent person may be grilled,” Tariq Asad said.

In his Wednesday’s order, regarding security and integrity of Pakistan, Justice Siddiqui said, “The subject matter of these petitions has direct bearing on the integrity, security and defence of Pakistan therefore all the institutions need to rise to the occasion, in order to protect ideological and geographical boundaries of the country.”

The IHC bench observed that blasphemy with respect to the sacred personalities of Islam and disregard for the ideology of Pakistan could put the geographical boundaries to serious threat.  The Ministry of Information secretary and FIA director general submitted progress reports. The interior secretary told the court that material progress had been made and executive of the country was fully conscious and sensitive to the situation. He further told the court that they had arrested a person under allegations of blasphemy and three more were under observation while names of a few other people were put on the exit control list.

The Ministry of Interior secretary sought time to submit a detailed report regarding the steps already taken and to apprise the court about future course of action. He further told the court that an FIR under sections 295-A, 295-B, 295-C, 109PPC, r/w section 11 Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 and section 6(f), 7(h), 8 & 9 of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 was registered on March 19, 2017 with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The interior secretary further told the court that the requirement of joint investigation team (JIT) shall be met in which persons from intelligence agencies shall also be associated, which is requirement of the law. The IHC bench observed that the inclusion of the officials of intelligence agencies was necessary as they submitted before court that their organisation had the capacity to block the pages and to extend assistance in tracing the real culprits.  Legal counsel for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) sought time from the court to submit reply.

Advocate General Islamabad Mian Abdur Rauf told the court that the attorney general for Pakistan had gone to perform Umrah and on the next date of hearing he would appear before the court to apprise about the steps taken with regard to inclusion of pornography, blasphemy and false allegation of blasphemy in PECA 2016. The IHC bench then adjourned the hearing till March 27.

The News

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IHC wants blasphemy, pornography sections added to cybercrime law

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the authorities concerned on Friday to include sections related to blasphemy and pornography in the Cyber Crimes Act.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui noted that two important aspects – blasphemy and pornography – have not specifically been mentioned in the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016.

He subsequently directed the Advocate General Islamabad, Mian Abdul Rauf, to complete legal requirements in this regard.

The AG submitted that the Ministry of Interior would take initiative to put this aspect in process for bringing amendments concerning inclusion of these two aspects in the act.

Justice Siddiqui ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to enquire about the NGOs operating with the “agenda to spread blasphemous contents and promote pornography, and also working against the ideology and integrity of Pakistan”.

The court ordered the FIA director-general to appear in person on the next hearing along with the report in this regard.

Moreover, the court directed the FIA to speed up the efforts to identify real culprits and if necessary try to enlist the assistance of an intelligence agency — the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The court also directed the AG to ensure the presence of some high-ranking officials from the office of the agency.

The court also issued a notice to the attorney general of Pakistan in order to examine the issue of false accusation of blasphemy and its consequences.

The directions were issued while hearing a petition seeking removal of blasphemous contents from social media.

Rauf informed the court that blasphemy is already an offence in the Pakistan Penal Code so there was no need to include it in the Cyber Crime Act. Nonetheless, the court directed to initiate legal process for the inclusion of the sections in the Cyber Crimes Act.

Meanwhile, the FIA director-general apprised the court that the agency was investigating around 75 persons in connection with blasphemy case and the FIA was also in consultation with a lawyer to take to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He linked progress in the case with an active cooperation of the Facebook management.

Justice Siddiqui, however, expressed dissatisfaction over the progress report and remarked that the investigation agency has yet to identify the real culprits. He then directed to include official of the intelligence agency in the case.

During the hearing, Pemra Chairman Absar Alam, while replying to a query of the court regarding airing of obscene contents on television channels, admitted indecency in some TV shows.

Alam maintained that Pemra has stopped broadcast of Indian movies and dramas, and also issued directions against airing of programmes that promoted violence.

Also, an official of the Ministry of Interior informed the court about the steps taken by the ministry to publicise Article 19 of the Constitution which ensures freedom of information with reasonable restrictions.

The case would now be taken up on March 22.

The Express Tribune

 

 

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NA flays circulation of blasphemous material

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Tuesday passed a joint resolution unanimously to condemn circulation of blasphemous material on social media and urged the government to take necessary measures to curb it.

The House also authorised Speaker National Assembly to constitute a 10-member committee comprising members from all parliamentary parties to discuss the issue and propose some cogent measures to prevent circulation of blasphemous material on social media.

The resolution was jointly moved by PML-N member Capt Muhammad Safdar (retd) and JUI-F member Naeema Kishwar, and adopted unanimously.

The resolution urged the government to take necessary steps to block dissemination of sacrilegious and blasphemous material on social media as it is hurting sentiments of Muslims.

The House also discussed the motion relating to industries and production policy of the government.

PPP MNA Nafeesa Shah said the debt burden is increasing while exports are falling rapidly, showing a failure of the government to improve performance of industries and production sector.

“Our industry and agriculture are on the decline and we need to promote agro-based industry to boost our exports,” she said, adding that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is an opportunity to improve performance of the industrial sector.

She said that special economic zones are to be established under the CPEC, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered for revival of the local industrial and production sector.

“The government has been offering numerous incentives to Chinese investors and I want to ask if the government is offering the same incentives to local industrialists and investors,” she said.

She said that banks have been giving loans to industrial sector at an interest rate of 6 per cent, but the same loans are being offered to farmers at 14 per cent.

Responding to all these points, the parliamentary secretary for industries and production admitted that there is a need to focus on value-addition of the products to increase volume of exports.

He said that an NA committee should be constituted to discuss different proposals to improve the agricultural sector as if production of agriculture decreases, it impacts the whole economy.

The parliamentary secretary said the government announced an auto policy in March last year and this has helped improve performance of the sector.

The House also passed a resolution urging the government to take immediate steps to establish a women’s university in each district of the country.

Speaking on the resolution, Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Balighur Rehman said that Higher Education Commission (HEC) is implementing a comprehensive plan to set up a university or a campus in each district of the country.

He said education is priority of the government and efforts are under way to ensure that no one remains uneducated. He pointed out that at present there are 14 women universities in public sector and more are being established.

The minister said that campuses of Sardar Bahadur Khan University are being set up in Khuzdar, Pishin and Nushki districts of Balochistan and fund allocations for this purpose have been made in the PSDP.

He said education statistics are improving as a result of measures taken by the government. He said the percentage of out of school children has been decreased from 6.7 million in 2012-13 to 5 million in 2015-16.

The budgetary allocation for education has also been increased during the last three years and it is now close to 2.5 per cent of the GDP, he said, adding the government is also focusing on applied research in universities.

He said standard of public sector universities is also improving and ten universities have been included in the three hundred best universities of Asia.

Responding to a calling attention notice, Parliamentary Secretary for Interior Dr Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla told the House that facility for testing of food items is available at National Institute of Health.

He said that a food authority is being set up to address the issue of adulteration and a draft bill in this regard has been prepared and sent to the Ministry of Law for vetting.

Responding to another calling attention notice, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali informed the House that further recruitment in the authority is being made which will help improve its performance.

The National Assembly passed ‘The Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017,’ to enable more educational institutions across the country to affiliate themselves with the federal board.

Twelve bills were introduced in the National Assembly including: ‘The Religious Scholars, Ulema and Pesh Imams (Prayers Leaders) Welfare Bill, 2017,’ ‘The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015,’ ‘The Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Bill, 2016,’ ‘The Law Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2016,’ ‘The Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill, 2016,’ ‘The Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2016,’ ‘The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2016’ and ‘The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2016.’

The bills also include ‘The National Counter Terrorism Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017,’ ‘The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2017,’ ‘The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017’ and ‘The Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Bill, 2017.’

The chair referred these bills to relevant standing committees.

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