This is apropos a letter to the editor by this writer carried by the newspaper yesterday. This writer would like to add that if this is the scenario, then all the foreign governments and foreign agencies and Pakistani expatriates operating outside the country, who allegedly are poisoning the social space, will be outside the jurisdiction of the purported new laws, rules, and regulations.
Therefore, for all practical purposes, these laws will be made only for those Pakistanis who are still residing within the country. Common logic dictates that the people of a country, no matter how gravely and contemptuously the sitting government and its institutions perceive them, should not and cannot be described as enemies. Therefore, the Prime Minister should have used proper and appropriate vocabulary while distinguishing foreign elements hostile to the country and domestic critics.
He could have rephrased it as follows: “While foreign adversaries seek to undermine our nation’s stability, we must also consider the impact of domestic actions that can weaken our collective resolve. Criticism is a fundamental right enshrined in our constitution, but when it crosses the line into spreading misinformation and inciting division, it becomes detrimental to our progress and security. Therefore we will introduce measures to target the malicious use of media by those seeking to harm Pakistan’s interests, both externally and internally”. Another question which arises is that given the existence of over 52 laws that directly and indirectly govern the media, and which have already granted extraordinary powers to both Federal and Provincial governments to control traditional and social media, often using brute state power to target journalists and media persons without following official procedures, and considering that Pakistan is already ranked 150th out of 180 countries on the Freedom of Press Index, what additional powers and actions is the government thinking to acquire by enacting new laws?
Qamar Bashir
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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