Mobile package ban: PTA’s ‘moral policing’ draws anger, and applause
The late night packages offered by almost every telecom company in Pakistan are a tool to encourage consumption during off-peak hours, in line with similar packages being offered globally. The packages, which offer nominal rates for calls and texts, are hugely popular among the youth in the country.
“We have received a number of complaints from the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Standing Committee of the Parliament, senators, MNAs and subscribers regarding the promotion of vulgarity through such advertisements and have therefore asked CMOs to immediately discontinue such packages and to present compliance reports,” said PTA Chairman Farooq Awan.
‘Rash decision’ say experts
This ban is drawing criticism for being ill-thought out and against consumer rights.
Waseem Hashmi, Manager Coordination and Outreach at the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan called the ban an infringement of personal freedom and rights.
“The issue has not been taken up internally yet, but it is a rash decision and we do not support such rash decisions,” he said.
Calling the ban absurd, Javed Jabbar, former Information Minister and academic called the ban an absurd decision that should be reconsidered. He further added that breaches of morality were not limited to the wee hours of the night in Pakistan.
“Why ban late night packages when we have unprecedented corruption, and content generating hatred and violence being aired openly in broad daylight?” Jabbar questioned.
He also emphasized that the state has the right to act as custodian - impose legislations and restrictions and even use violence only when a law is being violated or the public good is being threatened. If neither is at risk, as in the case of this ban, the decision loses its validity, he said.
Telcos in a conundrum
According to an official at one of the leading telecom companies in Pakistan who does not wish to be named, the late-night packages are a significant source of revenue for the company. Therefore, a potential consequence of the ban could be an introduction of cheap rate packages around the clock.
Another telco official who wished to remain unnamed also highlighted that the ban would adversely impact consumers as much as companies themselves because they would have to pay a higher rate for the same service.
"We will take it up with the government on a different platform - through dialogue and communication, [we will] try and explain the positive aspects of such packages" the official said.
Mixed response from the public
The decision has also triggered a mixed response over social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter in Pakistan. While some have commended the move for reducing “corrupt influences” on the youth and improving their productivity and academic performance, others have criticized the PTA for moral policing.
Facebook comments
Khalid Rind Appreciated. One of those very few good decision taken by government.
Mujahid Khan Too late but good act by PTA so far
Murtaza Hussayn Somrai Good decision taken for very first time in this country
Sufia Mariyah Zamir SERIOUSLY people are late night packages only for members of the opposite sex to interact with?? maybe a married woman is using it to contact her parents or her siblings in another city, or maybe a student in a hostel is taking advantage of these packages to call back home?? has that ever occured to anyone?? and frankly, monitoring their children is the parents responsibility not anyone elses!
Ahab Minhas The state intervening in personal lives of citizens is never good.
Twitter commentary
Shireen Mazari PTA declares late night talk packages "immoral"! So now PTA upholder of morality suddenly in Pak! What is immoral is the corrupt leadership!
Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi
Such are state of affairs or affairs of state: Interior Min bans mobiles as we are "insecure", PTA bans mobile packages as we are "immoral"
Mehreen Kasana PTA orders ban on late night mobile packages. They're "not in line with social moral values". Morality has timings? Uh.
omar r quraishi Last time I checked the PTA's job was to ensure affordable reliable telecom services to Pakistani users -- not to be their moral police
cyril almeida Who needs the Taliban; we already have the PPP govt (Yes, I know PTA is allegedly an 'independent' regulator.)
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COMMENTS (67)
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@Sufia: Oh well ! You can say that and I appreciate your view, But by administrative point of view, the decisions are taken for maximum advantage to maximum people and minimum disadvantage to minimum people !! if you are being suffered, it is sad ! but on the contrary you can see the good in it ! With your little support we can save a good decision and may be a generation !! The control you are taking about on children will then open another debate on freedom !! and as far as proxies are being used, this is true but I must tell you that they proxy procedure is also hard if its not complicated and it does limit the users again as it slows down your internet connection speed and hence can not said to be 100 % working !! that's it !! The basic motive is to limit the misuse,only misuse . !!
What work people have which can only be done in late night? so it must be appreciated, only those who use it can like it.
They should re-introduce these late night rates for full 24 hours.
People, this goes beyond the issue of morality and vulgarity. Do the proponents of freedom of speech care about the rights of people who do NOT wish to receive stupid calls late at night but have no choice but to be disturbed from their sleep because some dumb-* with free minutes and a verbal diarhoea wants to "chat" with them by dialling a random number?
The need for regulation arises one person's freedom of expression starts to infringe the rights of other people. So, good move PTA, from all those, who do not wish their privacy to be encroached upon. I say, ban all marketing text messages as well. No one should be selling you generators or tuitions on sms unless you consent to receive adverts on your cellphone.
"Waseem Hashmi, Manager Coordination and Outreach at the Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan called the ban an infringement of personal freedom and rights."
No one is stopping anyone from calling in the middle of the night. They're just banning those outrageous packages, which I believe is the right thing to do.
@Sufia: Hats of to you Ma'm. It takes a lot to share such a personal story and that too with such sensitivity.
@Razi Ahmad: "Lets have a retired hawaldar sit in every home to report on all they say and do" You made me smile.
@ Sufia:
That's exactly my point Sufia: "The masses of this country are happy because they have a very narrow mind that cannot come out of their little hole and see beyond the “immorality and vulgarity” perspective." But sadly, they are the masses and they get to vote and decide how the country must be governed and that too by our own chosen method of governance i.e. DEMOCRACY!!!
The solution is to educate, educate and educate. Not only the masses, to bring them up to a level where they can think and speak and vote for themselves BUT also for the so called moderate elite of the country, the most visible of whom give modernity a bad name by associating it with the "freedom" to do as they please: drink alcohol, dress inappropriately, do rave parties, let their kids younger than 18 drive their cars and kill pedestrians and then allow them to run away abroad,
Sadly, the entire debate in this nation seems to be between being MODERN and being MORAL. In Fata, if you have a TV at home, you are a "modern" family. Alternatively, in some of the liberal households in Karachi that I personally know of, shrinking away from consuming alcohol is considered backward and fundamentalistic [don't know if that's a word!].
This is not a new debate. The west has found a solution in giving up any jurisdiction on the behavior of its masses until it is not detrimental to others. That could not be a solution for a muslim state. Our religion clearly dictates that LIFE, in its entirety, must be governed by the dictates of Allah. State and Religion cannot be separated in Pakistan or Iran or Saudi Arabia or even UAE for that matter. Those who wish to live in such an environment, must work hard and move to the other nations where liberty comes first. Others, like myself, feel that there may be some way out in Pakistan as well. A middle ground we might find shortly and let us all live peacefully through a negotiated social settlement.
@waqas, My sympathies for your situation. That said, are you trying to tell me that this sort of thing did not occur before the era of cell phones? I think you are quite mistaken on that - I dont know how old you are, but I am sufficiently old enough to have a very good memory of a time before a mobile phone and even before the Internet, and I can tell you for a fact that this sort of thing happened even on the good old land line. I repeat, it is up to parents to counsel their children and keep them safe.
This is going very off topic, but my comment is only intended as an answer to your comment. Speaking from experience, parents should have that kind of open enough mentality to speak to their children on such issues instead of considering them taboo, if for no other reason but to protect them. If parents fail to keep their kids safe, simply because they are too repressed to bring up certain subjects, then again they have failed as parents. My parents gave me my first lecture on unwanted advances when I was only 5 and went on my first school field trip. Since you have shared a painful memory on such a public forum, Ill share mine as well: I was on the receiving end of unwanted touching when I was only 9. My parents were not around, and I made sure that I raised enough noise to attract attention and make sure the perpetrator was caught. I told my parents later, and they told me they were very proud of me. I was able to do this because this is what my parents taught me to do when faced with a situation like this. Unfortunately, most parents are very hush-hush and instead of open discussion with their children, they attempt to cover things up and encourage their children to do the same.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, but should not stop at this. Criminal psychopaths who spend hours sending vulgar sms messages after finding out girls phone numbers should and must be arrested and sent to prison. Even when they are requested to stop harassing female family members they refuse and just laugh. They keep silent when a male voice answers the phone. They keep changing their sims. Have many sims issued against one CNIC. PLEASE someone look into this and HELP! These people are nobody's sons/brothers. Their own mothers must be ashamed of them!
@waqas: Instead of respecting Sufia’s point of view you are using research word to change her mind. Let’s see your research give us the reference to the published article in a peer reviewed journal that supports your bizzare theory.
It appears that Mullahs are the Brahmins of the Muslim world.
They are trying to think for people rather than allowing them to think for themselves and allow them make decisions that suits there needs and logic. In a global village when it is late in Pakistan the other half of the world has daylight.
Ban, ban, ban... is the future of Pakistan and will in turn Pakistanis be banned, banned, banned from other nations as they lack the skills to compete in the world fast moving forward because they are simply inable to negotiate their lives in the world?
Ban everything in this country until unless people start dying out of suffocation..who has given these few people the right to decide what 180 million people speak or not...I have become very sick of the mentality of this country's people and its higher ups...
I guess it's a good move as sorry for the folks hoisting the flag of Liberalism... Hey take a knock at your brain, you ain't gonna earn any accolade or batch of so thwarted label of an enlightened and moderate nation... I mean nothing is stopping and yeah nobody can't.... But stop throwing your personal shells of infidelity and turtle intuition here ...... I am not taliban.... A man debt driven for Pakistan..... But I support it.. And I know these telcos won't be able to throw a single rationale out there... Stop acting, start thinking imdb nation!
I also agree with banning of night Pakages.just a time wasting
Instead of embracing technology, we all are digging a grave for ourselves so that not even an inch of light can pass through this misguided nation. What next...a complete ban on mobile phones? Sir Syed Ahmed Khan...we need you back!
Are we Saudi Arabia in disguise?
I think it is not good for the state of Pakistan to let people talk for as long as they want for free without paying any tax. It is absolutely beneficial for the state to ban free or almost free night talking or night packages. Keep in mind that Pakistan did not block night time service just such packages that do no good to the state. Now Pakistani government will make more money by accumulating more taxes as people would eventually use mobile phones at night time and pay tax. I support Government decision to exploit all means necessary to generate and widen the tax grip over the largely tax evading population.
what a load of crap. PTA should focus on bringing 3G technology to pakistan not regulating who talks when and with whom. are pakistanis so incapable of restraining themselves from vulgarity and "immorality" that the government has to come in and make them be moral. next step have moral police like saudi arabia. oh and another point now people will just have to pay more for the same service so in the end the consumer lost and the mobile operator won. the regulators job is to increase competition not create an oligoply!
Immoral..!!! Look who are talking ;)
Yes good move. But lets not stop here. Lets ban that instrument of vulgarity, the phone. Not just mobile but home ones too so no one can talk wastefully at all. And cars. You know they are bad for us all. How about pukka houses. They take us away from our roots. Lets ban them too. Also why not force Tribune to give the ip addresses of everyone in the comments who said otherwise. Lets also bring them to the central chowk and behead them.
We all know that Pakistanis are totally incapable of watching their own morality. Lets not stop at PTA. Lets have a retired hawaldar sit in every home to report on all they say and do
Proud to be a fundamentalist.
Ban on packages is not the solution, its total loss to mobile companies and the people who are far away from their home to call for.
@Azmat, when someone apart from my family attempts to police my morals, that is an infringement of my freedom. This the government does not have the right to do, nor do I see why I should have to pay higher rates because some people are abusing the system and because some parents were unable or unwilling to do their duty towards their children. The masses of this country are happy because they have a very narrow mind that cannot come out of their little hole and see beyond the "immorality and vulgarity" perspective. Whoever wants to do something wrong will still do it, so what do we achieve except turning our country into one that is rapidly going downhill from an independent democratic nation to a Fascist one? How about we just rename ourselves "Saudi Arabia", considering our people's mentalities and our laws are going down that path anyway? At least in Saudi Arabia, the education and health and poverty figures are much better than ours.
Simply I like it..
rash decision by PTA
Good decision infact like "Don't cry over spilt milk.". Most of us so called muslim (liberals) lost their moral values and people attitudes change to earth.
PTA has no right whatsoever to teach us what is moral or immoral. first a decision to ban umpteenth number of websites occurred as some budding dumb witted and uni focal teenager helps PTA compile a list of "immoral" websites that also included webpages which had nothing to do with this puppy's vision of morality. Then PTA spends precious tax payers' time and money by compiling a list of bad vocabulary in languages they could imagine, however limited that understanding was, and now banning of night packages over "morality issues."
Who gives PTA the right to teach us morals or ethics? if its creating some revenue issues, other disruptions in PTA's code of conduct, state accordingly, but don't try to become self styled reformers and preachers. I think as Pakistanis we have quite a huge number of these preachers, teachers and self appointed reformers, PTA don't try to jump the gun. those who are lauding the "moral" decision, kindly have the courage and capacity to deter these activities at home, than relegate this task to PTA.
Greed with PTA's decision. Youth was being detracked.
Excellent decision
@ Sufia
How is it an infringement of your freedom? Has the PTA stopped or blocked late night calls? At best, it is being made marginally more expensive. If it is so important for the late night users, they can continue to talk / surf / message as much as they want all through the night by paying a slightly bigger charge.
Once again, all those decrying this action, please note: THE MASSES OF THIS COUNTRY ARE HAPPY WITH THIS MOVE. I know this for a fact. Even Tribune's own readership has voted in favor of this action. We all know Tribune's readership, and that too which accesses the newspaper over the internet, when compared to the rest of the nation, probably represents the most moderate and enlightened of us all. If, even in this group, the vote is in favor of the action, even if marginally so, imagine how the masses would vote for it, given the opportunity to have a say.
Therefore, in a democracy, the majority gets to dictate the terms of living. We have been dictated to. Take it and live with it.
they have simply banned the packages and not a persons ability to call at night at normal rates...
its not even the question about rights... the rights are still intact... if you want call in the night, the standard package is still available... i don't get the fuss about it...
This ban will have no affect as people who wishes to indulge ill deed will find a new way to do all such things... and on another note, what we should realise is that its not banning the nite packages or blocking porn sites which is gonna help bring us in fighting this moral corruption of our society, rather we should focus on finding root cause of it whether its upbringing of our younger generation which is making them prone towards all these moral corruption, or is it the falling apart of social institutions like Family which is driving them towards this pitfall, is it the rising frustration among youth due to lack of opportunities and sense alienation which is coming out in this way..
it seems that Express Tribune have much problem with this ban.can you tell y ?
Are our parents not enough to keep a check on us? It is every persons right and choice when they want to speak to one another! We do not need the government to be our moral police!
Customer is right every time. Government is controlling personal freedom. with assumption that something fishy is going on. Even if people are talking or surfing sexual things so what it is their money and they have right to spend any way they please.
Simply put a Muslim country is struggling with power of the social media.
It reminds me of time when Taliban used to damage Cell phone tower and when along with tower there phone service went down they realized it was counter productive and they left them alone.
This is seriously absurd. I am sure some Mullah has taken up the top position at PTA. Trust me, love will still flourish late night on phone and there is nothing you can do about it
That is much disturbing and flabbergasted news to all late night users,anyways and thanks to almighty that finally they took a good step to modify this sleepy youth into workable.
\m/ PTA
that is much disturbing and shockful news to all late night users,anyways a good step to modify this sleepy yourh into workable. :D
\m/ PTA
@Loneliberal PK: u r just being stupid...its NOT about YOU...look at the bigger picture...u might not do the ''IMMORAL'' things but there is majority which does...n these packages are true motivation...and stop playing freedom card people..free people stand up for their rights they dont complain about it sitting behind a computer...especially if there freedom is limited to late night calls.!!
Hence its proved that our Nation can only be controlled through force. We as individual are not willing to change nor the youths on which the nation rely.
It’s time to digest some bitter pills in fever of national security; we need to understand the sensitivity of the situation for which we all are going through and should encourage authorities. There is huge difference between enjoying the technology in rather peaceful cities like Lahore, Islamabad and living in fearsome conditions like Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi. Keeping a stronger check on all communications would defiantly be resulting in favor of all. We are surrounded by vultures!
For the last few days, I have been seeing an ad of a telecom firm promising 24 hour on-net calls for just 8 rupees a day! How much more cheaper could the night packages be! So I personally think there will be ZERO impact of this request from PTA and hence it is simply a gimmick to gain some easy popularity with the majority.
The late night users will continue to use the service and maybe, just maybe, pay a little bit more than before or use a little less, but only a little less. The Telecoms will continue to make the same amount of money, and probably make more over time.
advantages of banning late night packages...easily surpass its disadvantages..!!
What's next? Stopping internet services at midnight to stop the 'violations of social norms'? Who appointed PTA to be our babysitter?
@galli ki larki: apparently people cant seem to think beyond "vulgarity and immorality" in this regard so youll just have to call your mother at the higher rate thanks to the perverted mentality in this country. Im sorry to hear about your mother though. That very angry comment bashing the ban referenced here was mine - and the "student" in the hostel I mentioned was my brother when he was studying in Lahore. He used to call home (i.e parents and siblings) at night because that's when he used to find time, and the night time packages used to keep his bills down.
And come on, why is it that no one seems to see all the other problems in this country - hunger, poverty, lack of education, poor health, inflation, and how come come the only time a hue and cry is raised is when some perceived immorality comes into the picture? Our priorities as a nation are totally screwed up very sorry to have to say that.
@Yawer Amin, it is definitely an infringement of my freedom. I dont see why the convenience to me has to be compromised just because SOME people misuse the system. There is a potential to misuse even the land line phone, does that mean we ban that as well? Those who are into the vulgarity will find a way to do it regardless, the now-higher rates will not deter them if they are determined enough. Just like now porn is accessed through proxies for those who really want to access it. If parents are concerned that their children are talking to their boyfriends or girlfriends in the middle of the night, they should have sufficient control over their children to make sure it doesnt happen, instead of relying on government authorities to do their jobs for them. Our country is turning into a Fascist republic and our rights to information and freedom are being curtailed, and yet we are all quiet.
ET should introduce Like button for each of its news :)
Of course talking for long hours at night is a waste of our time, but that's not the point.
It's absolutely none of PTA's business who talks to whom at night for however long. What's next? I won't be allowed to make a call without saying a prayer first?
Good decision taken by PTA or government.this is good for young student .
very good decision to keep our youth from vulgarity and immorality, i just want to know that which parents calls their siblings and family after 12:00 am, it is just a worst lame excuse that their could be positive use of late night packages, this excuse is presented just to shield their maliciousness intention. we as public are totally supporting this ban on late night packages and ban on porn sites. and i think all parents and elders who love their sibling, kids and younger are in favor of this ban if print media consult with them personnaly
Good decision!
Well Done PTA...
Is this the top news for ET????
OK Lets start think like Verizon and AT&T start giving cell phones with their packages, start packages from 500 a month and up to 5000 a month based on 12 and 24 month contract. Another thing cell phone should be GPRS enabled and tracking device installed in it with proper insurance ;) Think Different :D
right decision by PTA
This is Talibanisation at the state level.
Way to go... Ban everything that anyone can enjoy.
It is good decision, but taken so late ! PTA should have banned this since the start of these packages. There is no doubt that this ban will result in positive outcomes at some extent. It like as PTA has blocked porn sites in PK it has become so effective and there is a significant decline in abusing internet. so we should be rational and appreciate good decisions.as far as telcos revenue is concerned, yes this is an issue but there can be a solution, over all the decision is good.I just can not understand why peoples calling it a infringement or intervention is freedom of speech ?
PTA must ban all the late night mobiles' packages without any pressure from any where and from all aspects and even courts never have to allow too to the mobiles' companies for continuing the late night packages because by the late night packages the network and connectivity are badly badly badly effected as well as mostly misuse of mobiles.
It is killing precious time for students in universities and colleges, even in schools. When the world around us is exponentially advancing in science and technology, We as a nation are busy with talks and gossips. Everywhere you go, you will see someone stuck with their mobile.
so i talk my ailing mother to sleep whenever I am out of town and and she out of sleep. we both thankyou PTA 'Parenting & Teaching Army' of Pakistan :/