World Telecom and Information Society (WTIS) Day is being celebrated on May 17 and theme for this year - "Protecting Children in Cyber Space" holds special significance for Pakistan. Children and youth are future of our nation.
Their intellectual growth requires that they should be provided freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds in writing or in print, in form of art or any other media of their choice. Use of internet services has now become the most favourite medium of expression for our children.
This cyber race has also posed new challenges. It has made us realise the importance of protecting our children in cyber space against intruding ideas and attractions which may be detrimental to the interests of societal values, public morals, national security or public order. They should also be guided to respect the reputation and rights of others.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) initiatives like Children Online Protection (COP) has highlighted the importance of collective efforts for adoption of best practices to harness the full potential offered by state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure, minimising hazards to children.
Government of Pakistan is cognisant of the fact that widespread adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) services necessitates confidence and security in its usage especially for the children and young generation of the country which are the prime users of ICTs.
We are fully confident that collective efforts for protecting children in cyberspace will yield the results as the Pakistani nation has great potential. I am hopeful that ICT infrastructure will continue to empower our children positively in harnessing their potential for the betterment of society and progress of the country.