Throwing the baby out with bathwater
After more than a four year long ban on the YouTube, the country faces the prospect of the blocking of the entire social media. On Tuesday an Islamabad High Court judge ordered the Interior Minister to eliminate access to the blasphemous content on social media even if it means blocking all access to social media platforms. This provided a God sent opportunity to Ch Nisar who was already keen to muzzle those who used the platform to criticise the PML-N government, especially the interior ministry, for their lack of performance. Taking the cover of the court directive Nisar expressed the desire to block not only the networks that host blasphemous content but also those which subjected ‘top state functionaries to ridicule’ on “the pretext of freedom of expression.”
Scientific and technological development has brought untold benefits to mankind. The development of science has however also led to the invention of the atom bomb, chemical weapons agents (CWAs) and poison gases that have killed thousands upon thousands of people during wars. But does anybody think of banning the teaching of science for this? Again there are quite a few hosts on TV networks who are accused of spreading religious and sectarian hatred, conducting media trial of political opponents or blackmailing businessmen. But can anybody demand banning of the media industry to stop this?
Blasphemy is a crime in Pakistan. If there is enough evidence to show that someone has committed blasphemy on social media, he should be tried for the crime under the normal laws which give him the right to defend himself. Blocking all access to social media platforms amounts to punishing the entire community for the yet to be proven crime of a handful of individuals. This is possible only under FCR, the black law introduced by the British colonial government to muzzle the tribal community in present day Fata. To bring the tribal belt into the mainstream there is a need to dispense with the FCR instead of replacing the good old law of evidence in Pakistan with the draconian colonial era law.
