Dirty business in sequestered cubicles

Pakistan’s children need to be protected from access to pornography

ISLAMABAD: Despite a strong recommendation by the Unicef, provincial governments in Pakistan have not been able to promulgate laws to protect children from child pornography, said an official of the federal Ombudsman’s office for Children’s Complaints.

Legislation on the issue becomes legal obligation of the provincial governments following the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment in 2010. Child protection was under the Ministry of Social Welfare before the amendment.

Unicef, in its annual report of 2010, while expressing serious concern over the easy access of pornographic and gambling sites by children in internet cafes, had asked the Ministry of Social Welfare, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Ministry of Information Technology to check the unregulated internet cafes.

Terming easy access to the internet as an encouraging activity, the Unicef report said that the lack of a regulatory mechanism to monitor internet cafes is disturbing. Experts say that it is the responsibility of the provincial governments to protect the children from abuse and exploitation in many internet cafes who were also producing child pornography. Internet cafes in all major and small cities, particularly in towns and villages, are involved in providing children easy access to objectionable sites without any check by relevant authorities.

According to the official, the provincial governments had promised to initiate the process for the required legislation but no progress was reported by any of the four provinces till this year. “It is obligatory for Pakistan, being a signatory of United Nations Convention of Child’s Right, to promulgate laws to make internet cafes accountable,” he said.

Due to the devolution of the Ministry of Social Welfare after the 18th constitutional amendment, it has become difficult for the federal government to push the provinces regarding the required legislation, he added.

The official expected that the PTA would take appropriate steps to censor the child pornography till the promulgation of the required laws. However, laws are necessary to apprehend and prosecute the culprits in internet cafes, he emphasized.

Anwarul Haq Kakar, a prominent leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Balochistan, was of the view that the federal government should introduce the required laws without waiting for such legislations by the provincial government. “A public awareness campaign must be launched by the federal and provincial governments before enacting the laws,” he told The Express Tribune. “Such campaign will not only educate parents, teachers and legislators about the negative impact of this dirty business, but will also help expose the people involved in this trade,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2015.