Better late than never

While controls are necessary, it is hoped that a blanket ban is not imposed on social media.

The Rawalpindi incident seems to have finally jolted the government into wakefulness with regard to inter-sect relationships. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken the police to task for their laxity and failure to implement preemptive measures that might have averted the tragedy in Rawalpindi. He has effectively accused the police of criminal negligence and it is difficult to disagree with him. He has been similarly condemnatory of the city administration for their lax approach to managing a situation that quickly spiralled out of control with disastrous consequences for many, not only those caught up in the sectarian conflict.

Despite there being legislation which limits hate speech, there is a national problem when it comes to sectarian incitement to violence, with speeches and wall-chalking and pamphleteering all evident but rarely if ever prosecuted. The prime minister’s call for strict action to be taken against those who disregard the law is welcome, but even more welcome would be seeing his words turned into action by those whose job it is to enforce the law, and moreover do that year-round and not only at a time when faith-related processions are on the streets.

The prime minister had strong words condemning the ‘criminal silence’ of the city administration and the police, and he expressed concern about the way in which the social media had been used to disseminate hate speech, false memes and ‘doctored’ pictures purportedly — but falsely — to show the incident in grisly detail. He also dropped a heavy hint at future regulation in the social media, and has ordered that he be presented with a draft of ‘cyber laws’ in order to limit the discord impact of social media as an engine of sectarian hatred. Whilst some controls may be necessary it is hoped that this does not lead to a blanket blocking of social media as has happened with YouTube.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2013.

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