Amplifier act: Commentator in Islamabad lands in lockup

ISLAMABAD: Although mostly used to control hate speech, the police used Amplifier Act to mute a commentator of a cricket match. The Amplifier Act disallows the use of loudspeakers in a manner that may disturb the peace of the neighbourhood. And a night match going on in the F-6 locality featured live commentary on an amplifier. Acting on a citizen’s anonymous complaint, a squad of Kohsar police swooped down on the cricket ground and hauled away commentator Waqas Sakhawat and confiscated the sound system too.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2017.