Adil Najam
Pakistan seems ready to ban the Internet (again) (well, parts of it)!
On the face of it, this is Internet banning silly season all over again. But wait. Maybe, this is different. Maybe, its not even a bad thing! Maybe, this is exactly what we need!
But before I explain why this may be so, here are the essential facts. The machinations of banning the Internet in Pakistan are not new. It has sometimes been done to silence political speech (and here), but its more common and certainly its recent incarnation is in the name of religion. Of course, the frenzy was at its height recently with the ‘Facebook ban.’ Now it seems that the Lahore High Court has ordered the banning of an entire range of websites, possibly including Google, Yahoo, MSN and Bing. Supposedly, the government’s position is that “no website will be blocked without investigation,” but also that websites will be blocked to comply with the court’s rulings.
Why, you ask. Here is how the report in The News explains it:
A citizen, Muhammad Sidiq, filed a writ petition No. 3246/2010 in the LHC, seeking a ban on the websites for publishing blasphemous materials and twisting the facts and figure of Holy Quran. Deputy Attorney General Muhammad Hussain Azad also endorsed the viewpoint of the petitioner and demanded blocking of these websites. Counsel for the petitioner, Latif-ur-Rehman Advocate presented CDs and other evidence in the court, showing that the said websites were publishing sacrilegious material. Later, President High Court Bar Aslam Dhakkar said the court has given a historic decision. He said the legal fraternity would observe a complete strike in Bahawalpur on Wednesday (today) against publication of such material by these websites. He said a meeting would also discuss the situation today.
It is not yet fully clear exactly what will happen because of this ruling, but it is very clear that no matter what happens we are going to keep getting a host of such cases. People will find things on the Internet that they are offended by. While I have never understood why people spend so much time and energy trying to find things that offend them, it is the nature of the Internet that everyone (and I mean, everyone) can find lots of things on it to be offended by. Conspiracy, idioticy, lies, ridicule. Its all there. What you choose to see on the Internet is your choice, not the Internet’s. (Maybe the Honorable Judge Sahib should have booked Mr. Muhammad Sidiq for visiting blasphemous site. Why is his faith so insecure as to be shattered by a website. After all, why is he going around searching for blasphemy!).
It would be too easy, however, to blame the Judge for giving a ‘wrong’ decision. Its too easy for Internet Freedom advocates to seek a reversal of the decision. But the fact of the matter is that the decision is NOT wrong. Under the laws of Pakistan, as written, blasphemy is indeed punishable and such sites should, indeed, be banned. The problem is not the judges or their decisions. The problem is the laws as they are written. And that means that the solutions will not come through the courts, but through society and through legislation. Blasphemy laws have been used nearly exclusively to exclude and to intimidate.
Historically, these blasphemy laws have been used to exclude and intimidate minorities. Now, the exact same tactics are being used to exclude and intimidate speech. The one thing you can be sure of is that we will see more and more of this. And our courts and judges will have no option but to rule as they have been ruling. Because that is what the law demands.
And herein lies the point about why banning the Internet in Pakistan may actually be a good thing.
Intimidation through these laws has never hurt the majority of Pakistanis, and certainly not those who matter in any consequential way. But Internet bans, no matter how temporary, do exactly that. The broader the Internet ban, the deeper the hurt, and the more it matters to those who matter. Maybe it will take repeated bans for us to realize the injustice, the exclusion and the intimidation that is baked into these laws.
The fact of the matter is that whatever inconvenience these Internet bans may cause are inconsequential in comparison to the actual murder and mayhem that is caused to minorities in Pakistan because of the same blasphemy laws. If this inconvenience is the way to awaken to the much greater injustice in these laws, then maybe these Internet bans are a good thing, after all. If, indeed, that were to happen, it would be an inconvenience well worth it!
Why stop at internet..lets ban all things foriegn, science, ectronic media films, news everything.We are living in a facsist state with this religion as the dictator.. if Islam doesn’t learn soon enough it will kill itself..like some suicide bomber ;)
Good article. Agree, banning the internet is not a solution.
I do have a question though, you all speak about mistreatment and atrocities against minorities in Pakistan. I’d like to know how bad it really is.
How bad is it guys? Are they not getting education, jobs, livelihoods, do they not have their own places of worship? I feel Pakistan is a place that isn’t getting the fair respect it deserves from its own people.
Please don’t count actions taken against ‘minorities’ for poor attitudes, bad social behaviour, crimes and general tendency towards idleness as the same would and is dished out to our ‘majorities’ – whatever they may be. (lets not mix localised socio-political agendas with the generalization).
I, work with people from all over Pakistan, not only are they geographically diverse in their backgrounds but their mother tongues and religions are different too. I do not see for a single moment any of them being held back from excelling in doing what they are doing due to being a ‘minority’ at work, or when they relocate elsewhere within the country.
I may be a little off topic, but just for a moment compare the position they (‘minority’) have in this country -which is just as much theirs as it ours, and that of other Muslim brethren whilst they are in todays world in a place where they are a ‘minority’.
I’m not trying to make an ‘us versus them’ argument here. I would just like us all to appreciate what we have in this country and appreciate it rather than jump on the ‘Pakistan sucks’ band wagon like the rest of the world.
Having said all of that, yes, we may be in need of a revolution to reform the current state of Pakistani politics and judiciary.
I can bet that the judge who ordered the ban probably can’t use the mouse himself. The previous generation is all computer illiterate. He ordered for the sake of ordering. The government attorney agreed for the sake of agreeing. And in the end PTCL will issue a ban (sooner or later) for the sake of banning. You know why? Nobody wants a Fatwa to be murdered against them. Neither the Judge, nor the PTCL chairman. They have no other options except to follow the fundamentalist stream when it comes to religion. Let’s suppose if the Judge or PTCL would have denied this ban? Come on, the cartoonist in Scandinavia was murdered, they are right sitting here in Pakistan, everybody has to save his skin.
I am web developer and running successful sites with millions of visitors across the globe. For last ten years, I spent my life on computer (atleast 14 hours a day) and trust me I never saw Blasphemy on internet, because I never wanted. I use internet for what I need and need to find. I agree with the author it’s you who decide what to see on internet, not the internet.
I reached this site using Google search, I can see the Google Ads on the top of this page. What we are supposed to do by banning sites like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc.? stopping millions of dollars in remittances (Adsense earnings) thats coming to our country? 80% of individual email addresses are hosted by Gmail. Do you want us to stop communicating with the world? People are trading Forex and Stocks on Yahoo. Do you want them to lose their investment? Thousands of people using Google checkout to sell over internet. What’s their fault?
We need to grow up. Come on do it and we will see how long it’s going to last. Please let us know if you achieve your goals (getting removed the content from the banned sites). You may be able get the disputed content from couple of site, but their will be thousands other next day. It’s endless loop, some countries tried it in the past and achieved nothing e.g. China. By the way what Pakistan achieved by the previous banning of Facebook (draw competition). The draw was held on Facebook as planned, nobody was able to stop it. Once it was completed, results done, facebook removed it. None of other Islamic countries blocked access to Facebook but Pakistan, because they knew it’s not going to make any difference.
And for some people it didn’t make any difference in Pakistan. There are hundreds of proxies available today which you can use to bypass PTCL banning. I used them myself in previous banning.
It’s a highway, the information highway. Blocking this highway means others will be reaching the destination earlier than you. You keep blocking your own highway to success by yourself. Good luck.
No one who matters will be motivated to challenge the blasphemy laws. People will just use proxy servers like the Chinese do to get around the restrictions in China.
I am glad that your article pointed out the situation of minorities in Pakistan. I agree with what you have said. I am sure that minorities will also be targeted by these bans too.
As for ‘proper investigation’ I am sure these will not be transparent and will be little more than arbritrary decisions.
Good point well made. When the average person suffers because of the blasphemy laws – there may be some momentum for change.