Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Wing Deputy Director Mahmudul Hasan revealed that individuals visiting pornographic websites are often coerced into sharing blasphemous content online.
Has made this shocking revelation while addressing the awareness session on ‘Blasphemous Material: Misuse of Social Media’ organised by the Students’ Advisor of the University of Karachi at the Chinese Teachers’ Memorial Auditorium.
Hasan emphasized that individuals found guilty under Pakistan’s 295c Law, which carries a maximum punishment of the death penalty, face dire consequences in both this life and the hereafter. He noted that Pakistan ranks among the highest in the world for viewing pornographic websites and sharing child pornography.
Hasan explained that those visiting such sites are manipulated into sharing blasphemous content after becoming addicted to obscenity, thus serving as unwitting conduits for spreading offensive material in exchange for access to more explicit content.
The deputy director of the FIA Cyber Wing informed the audience that they had arrested 344 people aged between 15 and 35 years. Last year, seven people were sentenced to death for uploading and sharing insulting content, and the remaining 242 cases are in the final stages.
Meanwhile, University of Karachi Vice Chancellor Professor Dr. Khalid Mahmood Iraqi reiterated the sanctity of reverence for the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) and emphasised the necessity of halting the dissemination of blasphemous material under the guise of modernism. Dr Iraqi acknowledged that blasphemy laws are sometimes misused, leading to debates within the country.
Earlier, PTA Islamabad Web Analytics Division Director Muhammad Farooq said in the last six months, Facebook has removed 14.8 million content based on bullying and harassment and 28.7 million content based on hate speech.
Farooq stressed that, “it is necessary to educate our youth to protect them from the negative use of social media.”
A member of the Islamic Ideological Council, and a KU faculty member Dr Umair Mehmood Siddiqui said that people who have been watching pornographic content for three or four years are found involved in following, spreading, and sharing insulting content, “which is very alarming for our society.”
He informed the audience that the United States hosts 60 per cent of porn websites, while Pakistan is number one in the search of porn sites on Google, which is very shameful and a serious concern for all of us.
The KU Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean Professor Dr Shaista Tabsum emphasised promoting awareness for the positive use of social media and the internet in Pakistan and said that we all need to play our role in this regard.
Ziauddin University Karachi Human Rights Center Director Dr Muaz Shah shed light on the laws in Pakistan regarding misuse of social media and promotion of offensive content. The KU Associate Professor of the Department of Islamic History Dr Muhammad Sohail Shafiq, and the KU Students’ Advisor Dr Nosheen Raza also spoke on this occasion.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th 2024.
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