Political principles

The petition put before the LHC by PML-Q MPA and son of party chief Pervaiz Elahi, Moonis Elahi, seeking a permanent ban on Google Blogger as it contained ‘hate’ material against him, offers us a telling insight into the minds of our political leaders. They need a reminder that around the world lives in the public sphere, notably as a politician, leave individuals open to all kinds of attack. Seeking a ban on websites used by millions does not offer an acceptable solution. Highly offensive material against US President Barack Obama can be found on many websites. He has not sought their closure.

The reply to the court by the director for telecom that links on sites can be blocked but that ‘globally useful’ websites cannot be shut off entirely is a sensible one. However, even closing down certain links amounts to a form of censorship. The internet offers an entirely free flow of information; this is its strength. Tools allow parents to prevent children from accessing unsuitable material. Beyond the childhood years, it is questionable if such material should be censored. Net users can decide which sites they choose to view. In this respect, the precedent set in the past by authorities is unfortunate. The temporary banning, a few months ago, of websites that included Facebook and YouTube served no useful purpose. The continued denial of access to many Baloch nationalist websites by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority is even more disturbing.

Mr Moonis Elahi, who in his petition has also sought that the owners of the website be asked to remove the material he objects to, should also keep in mind that in some cases certain actions lead to strong, perhaps inappropriate, reactions. He must attempt to assess if this is true in any way, and if it is, to reconsider conduct, assess why various actions surface and consider remedies that focus on himself rather than a demand that hugely popular websites be banned.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2010.