Sindh govt seeks ban on messaging apps
When we receive the proposal from the Sindh government, we will examine it and then decide accordingly, says Nisar.
A person uses Skype app on his cell phone. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
First, it was YouTube, then cellular networks. Now it is the popular cross-platform instant messaging apps that face a possible ban.
The Sindh government announced a proposal calling for the temporary banning of four applications “to disrupt terrorist and criminal activities in the province, especially in the urban areas”.
During a press briefing in Karachi on Thursday, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the proposed decision to ban the multiplatform video conferencing service Skype, multi-media communication and instant messaging applications WhatsApp, Tango and Viber. The decision was taken during a meeting on law and order at the Chief Minister House the same day, he said.
The ban will be imposed for three months, provided the federal government approves its request.
“Sindh government has recommended to the federal government to block such software in order to detach the criminals from modern communication and make the Rangers-led targeted operation more successful.”
The minister apologised for expected inconvenience to the people, but said that precious lives were more important. “These software applications which are designed to run on smartphones and tablet computers are being used by the criminals for their nefarious designs.”
Referring to the recent investigation carried out by the Joint Interrogation Teams, comprising the police, Rangers and intelligence agencies, the minister said these applications enable terrorists to connect with their network of gangs and criminal groups via messages, images and free audio and video calling over the internet.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said the federal government has not taken the decision to ban the applications yet. “I am personally not in favour of this ban. When I became interior minister, I ended the tradition of blocking mobile phone networks because this is not productive in counterterrorism,” he said in an official statement.
When we receive the proposal from the Sindh government, we will examine it and then decide accordingly, he said.
The Pakistan Peoples Party, the ruling party in Sindh, had been seeking a massive website blocking system since 2012, when they were in power at the centre. The five years of the PPP government had seen an unprecedented period in the growth of internet adoption and bans on social media networks in the country including Facebook.
More infamously, the country witnessed two spells of blocking the popular video-sharing website, YouTube. The second spell has continued for the past 374 days.
People begin confirming the news of the proposal on Whatsapp itself, one of the apps to be banned.
There was outrage on Twitter, the microblogging website. PPP members went all out to defend the proposal. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that only a certain elite class of Sindh, namely Karachi, will be affected and insinuated that they were overreacting.
Similarly, Sharmila Faruqi also thought it was a “small price to pay” if Karachi could be “cleansed of criminals”.
PPP member and former interior minister Rehman Malik had begun the ‘tradition’ of banning communication. He shut down cellular networks for extended periods on important national and religious holidays to ‘ensure the safety of the people’.
Malik was bombarded on Twitter from irate users over the Sindh government’s last proposal. He defended himself, saying he had no authority anymore. But he did say that the provincial government had no authority to ban apps as only the federal government can institute such bans.
For blocks on websites, each website is reviewed, on a case-by-case basis, by a federal inter-ministerial committee to evaluate web content. If it comes to a decision that a website should be blocked, the Ministry for Information Technology recommends the PTA to institute a ban.
Pakistan will not be the only nor the first country to ‘be threatened’ by open video conferencing and instant messaging applications, such as Skype, Whatsapp, and Viber. The services were banned in Saudi Arabia and UAE this year, with Vietnam being the latest one to consider the option.
The free apps are so popular in Pakistan that cellular companies advertise specific value package deals that allow unlimited use of these instant messaging apps, especially Whatsapp.
Karachi targeted action
During his press conference, Sharjeel Memon said the police and Rangers have conducted around 3,000 raids across Karachi. In these raids, 20 criminals have been killed, while criminals in the hundreds have been arrested.
Keeping in view the rampant fleeing of criminals from Karachi, it has been decided that now this targeted operation will be extended to the whole of Sindh from Friday, he announced.
Memon said the Sindh Government has decided to induct more investigation officers and prosecuting officers into the Sindh police force.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2013.
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First, it was YouTube, then cellular networks. Now it is the popular cross-platform instant messaging apps that face a possible ban.
The Sindh government announced a proposal calling for the temporary banning of four applications “to disrupt terrorist and criminal activities in the province, especially in the urban areas”.
During a press briefing in Karachi on Thursday, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon announced the proposed decision to ban the multiplatform video conferencing service Skype, multi-media communication and instant messaging applications WhatsApp, Tango and Viber. The decision was taken during a meeting on law and order at the Chief Minister House the same day, he said.
The ban will be imposed for three months, provided the federal government approves its request.
“Sindh government has recommended to the federal government to block such software in order to detach the criminals from modern communication and make the Rangers-led targeted operation more successful.”
The minister apologised for expected inconvenience to the people, but said that precious lives were more important. “These software applications which are designed to run on smartphones and tablet computers are being used by the criminals for their nefarious designs.”
Referring to the recent investigation carried out by the Joint Interrogation Teams, comprising the police, Rangers and intelligence agencies, the minister said these applications enable terrorists to connect with their network of gangs and criminal groups via messages, images and free audio and video calling over the internet.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said the federal government has not taken the decision to ban the applications yet. “I am personally not in favour of this ban. When I became interior minister, I ended the tradition of blocking mobile phone networks because this is not productive in counterterrorism,” he said in an official statement.
When we receive the proposal from the Sindh government, we will examine it and then decide accordingly, he said.
The Pakistan Peoples Party, the ruling party in Sindh, had been seeking a massive website blocking system since 2012, when they were in power at the centre. The five years of the PPP government had seen an unprecedented period in the growth of internet adoption and bans on social media networks in the country including Facebook.
More infamously, the country witnessed two spells of blocking the popular video-sharing website, YouTube. The second spell has continued for the past 374 days.
People begin confirming the news of the proposal on Whatsapp itself, one of the apps to be banned.
There was outrage on Twitter, the microblogging website. PPP members went all out to defend the proposal. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that only a certain elite class of Sindh, namely Karachi, will be affected and insinuated that they were overreacting.
Similarly, Sharmila Faruqi also thought it was a “small price to pay” if Karachi could be “cleansed of criminals”.
PPP member and former interior minister Rehman Malik had begun the ‘tradition’ of banning communication. He shut down cellular networks for extended periods on important national and religious holidays to ‘ensure the safety of the people’.
Malik was bombarded on Twitter from irate users over the Sindh government’s last proposal. He defended himself, saying he had no authority anymore. But he did say that the provincial government had no authority to ban apps as only the federal government can institute such bans.
For blocks on websites, each website is reviewed, on a case-by-case basis, by a federal inter-ministerial committee to evaluate web content. If it comes to a decision that a website should be blocked, the Ministry for Information Technology recommends the PTA to institute a ban.
Pakistan will not be the only nor the first country to ‘be threatened’ by open video conferencing and instant messaging applications, such as Skype, Whatsapp, and Viber. The services were banned in Saudi Arabia and UAE this year, with Vietnam being the latest one to consider the option.
The free apps are so popular in Pakistan that cellular companies advertise specific value package deals that allow unlimited use of these instant messaging apps, especially Whatsapp.
Karachi targeted action
During his press conference, Sharjeel Memon said the police and Rangers have conducted around 3,000 raids across Karachi. In these raids, 20 criminals have been killed, while criminals in the hundreds have been arrested.
Keeping in view the rampant fleeing of criminals from Karachi, it has been decided that now this targeted operation will be extended to the whole of Sindh from Friday, he announced.
Memon said the Sindh Government has decided to induct more investigation officers and prosecuting officers into the Sindh police force.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2013.
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