Daily Times

Certain draconian elements of the Pakistani state have been recently flexing their overworked muscles once more. Predictably, taking centre stage was none other than our Minister of the Interior.

Interestingly, while his party leader and PM was fighting for his political life — Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was courting other powers-that-be, namely the big boys at Facebook. All in a bid to have the latter link Pakistan-held accounts to local telephone numbers or, perhaps, otherwise. This request was made on the grounds of keeping in check the numerous fake profiles that disseminate blasphemous content on the social media website, which boasts some 33 million users in Pakistan. Thankfully, Facebook snubbed Nisar, citing the privacy of its users taking precedence over the misuse of fake profiles.

We can now all breathe a sigh of deep relief. For the Pakistani appeal was a malevolent attempt to not only silence dissent and curb free speech in the country — but to track down such persistent objectors. Especially given that all mobile numbers in Pakistan are linked to CNIC numbers through biometric identification. Thus the authorities here were hoping to identify users behind profiles promoting what they term putative blasphemous and anti-state content. This would naturally preclude people from openly voicing their opinions on social media, therefore representing an egregious violation of the right to free speech for Pakistani citizens.

Our authorities have already shown an utter lack of tolerance in this regard. Five social media activists famously went missing at the beginning of this year. Our security personnel may or may not have been tipped off by the FIA — the agency of which Nisar remains the supreme overlord. Yet these latest manoeuvrings suggest a state apparatus unsure of its own self-serving and problematic laws, such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. We applaud Facebook for not giving into the demands.

Criticism and dissent are essential for any democracy to function properly. Labels of anti-state and blasphemous content to silence competing opinions not only violate all tenets of international law — but also severely weaken Pakistan’s claims of being a thriving democracy.

Maybe the time has come, if we may be so bold, for our Minister of the Interior to see the writing on the wall. *

Published in Daily Times, July 20th, 2017.