The bill has numerous loopholes, but it is astonishing that it has been approved by the NA standing committee
KARACHI: The National Assembly’s (NA) standing committee has approved the new Cyber Crimes Bill 2015, which has now been referred to parliament for final approval. By looking at this bill, it is evident that the authorities have tried to deprive the citizens of Pakistan of their basic rights of criticising political figures for their moves. People are also hindered by the authorities to make any analyses in the forms of blogs; they aren’t even allowed to make fun in the form of memes, cartoons, etc. The bill should be streamlined, as so far, it seems to be barely effective when it comes to battling cybercrime. It seems as if the government does not like facing any kind of criticism, so this bill came as a welcome blanket-ban, for them, on all sorts of dissent.
The bill has numerous loopholes, but it is astonishing that it has been approved by the NA standing committee. There has been a great uproar on social media since this bill was drafted and now people are more apprehensive as it has been passed by the NA standing committee. Specialists are of the view that this bill will not only damage the right to freedom of expression but it will also prove to be ineffective in curbing cybercrime in Pakistan. Now the main question the people of Pakistan are asking is this: the bill that has been approved by the NA standing committee comprehensively limits people from expressing their views on social media — so why should this government be considered democratic at all? Legislators should know that depriving people of the right to freedom of expression is not only wrong but is also against the Constitution of Pakistan.
Mohammad Hassam Siddiqi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2015.
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