ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has introduced new social media rules to make digital networks and internet service providers block and remove “unlawful online content” or face shutdown in case of non-compliance, making digital rights activists claim the measure has been taken to curb freedom of expression in the country.
Under the rules notified on Wednesday, social media companies are bound to block access to unlawful online content within twenty-four hours — or in emergency cases, within six hours — after being reported by a government authority.
If a social media company or internet service provider fails to abide by the rules, “the authority may issue directions for blocking of the entire online system or any services provided by such service providers or social media company,” reads the 13-page document.
Islamabad has been struggling to regulate online content by blocking and removing fake news and propaganda against the country’s national security institutions, including the army, blasphemous content, and other sensitive material that violates cultural and ethnic norms of the country. So far, the authorities have fully received cooperation from social media companies in the absence of local rules that regulate these networking platforms.
“The purpose of these rules is to ensure effective implementation of local laws through quick removal of unlawful, defamatory, obscene and pornographic content from social media platforms,” Khurram Ali Mehran, a spokesman for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, told Arab News.
He said the rules were framed in compliance with the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act that was passed by parliament in 2016. “We are asking social media companies to open their offices in Pakistan to address genuine complaints of our users as per the law,” he said.
The government issued almost similar social media rules earlier in February, but later withdrew them after protests from digital rights activists and social media giants.
Under the rules, the social media companies and internet service providers with more than half a million users in Pakistan are required to register with the authority, establish a permanent office in Islamabad, and appoint a focal person based in the country within nine months and within three months, respectively, of coming into force of these rules.
The rules also suggest that the companies will be bound to establish one or more database servers in Pakistan within eighteen months of coming into force of these rules to store data and online content, but it is subject to the promulgation of data protection law.
“This is just to give the impression that there is a legal cover for this [blocking the online dissent and freedom of expression], but how legal this is and how constitutional this is, is up for challenge,” Farieha Aziz, a digital rights activist who heads Bolo Bhi, told Arab News.
She said the government was shrouding it all with the provision of a complaint mechanism to address grievances, but that was not enough to deal with the important issue. “Journalists and activists have a lot to lose out because social media is now their only other avenue [to express themselves],” Aziz said.
Any person aggrieved by any order or direction of the authority under the rules may file a review application within thirty days from the date of the passing of the order, and it will be decided within thirty working days. An appeal against the authority’s order can also be filed in a high court within thirty days of the order of the authority.
The rules allow any individual, government department, including a law enforcement or intelligence agency, to file a complaint against any unlawful online content with reasons for its removal or blocking access on digital platforms.
The rules have also brought internet services providers on a par with the social media companies and all the requirements have been applied to them as well, which they have termed unnecessary and in violation of the country’s cyber laws.
“We neither have capability nor the resources to monitor our traffic and identify those indulging in any unlawful online activity,” Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Internet Services Providers Association of Pakistan, told Arab News.
“The government has unnecessarily dragged us into it,” he said. “This will make our business difficult, and provide the government with a tool to twist telecom operators’ arm.”
Pakistan introduces social media rules to block access to ‘unlawful’ online content
https://arab.news/6be3g
Pakistan introduces social media rules to block access to ‘unlawful’ online content
- Social networking websites are required to remove unlawful content in 24 hours after receiving a government directive
- Digital rights activists and telecom operators term the rules illegal and an attempt to curb freedom of expression in the country
Karachi police deploy over 2,400 personnel for New Year’s Eve security at Seaview
- Youngsters step out on New Year’s Eve across Pakistan, where fatalities from aerial firing are common
- Karachi police have also deployed intelligence teams, asking them to remain vigilant during celebrations
KARACHI: Police in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Tuesday announced robust security measures for New Year’s Eve at the popular Seaview area, deploying over 2,400 officers and staff to ensure public safety and maintain order during celebrations, according to an official statement.
Young people traditionally step out to celebrate New Year’s Eve across urban centers in Pakistan, often resulting in road accidents or fatalities from aerial firing. Karachi’s Seaview remains a popular destination for such festivities, where police routinely ramp up precautions.
Amid a surge in street crimes in recent years, Karachi police are also on high alert to prevent potential incidents.
“To maintain law and order, six police platoons will be stationed at Seaview and adjacent areas,” Senior Superintendent Police Mahzur Ali was quoted in the statement as saying. “A total of 2,451 officers and personnel, including intelligence staff, have been deployed around Seaview, where hooliganism or aerial firing will not be tolerated.”
The statement highlighted that the security deployment includes several senior police officials and 80 mobile units along with 106 motorcycle patrols.
Mounted police, a specialized unit of law enforcement officers who patrol on horseback, will also monitor the area. Intelligence teams have been directed to stay vigilant.
The police have further implemented traffic management plans, converting both tracks from Seaview McDonald’s to Khayaban-e-Ittehad into one-way routes to ease congestion.
“No unlawful activities will be permitted,” added Ali.
The police also emphasized their commitment to ensuring a safe environment for citizens to celebrate responsibly.
Former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister sentenced to 34 years for speech against state institutions
- Muhammad Khalid Khurshid belongs to PTI and has been fined Rs600,000 by the court hearing his case
- A PTI lawmaker slams the verdict, G-B spokesperson says ‘no one is above the law and the constitution’
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) on Tuesday sentenced former Chief Minister Muhammad Khalid Khurshid to 34 years in prison and fined him Rs600,000 ($2,154) for delivering provocative speeches against state institutions and inciting public unrest, according to the court judgment.
Khurshid, a prominent member of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has alleged a sweeping crackdown following Khan’s ouster and imprisonment, was removed as G-B’s chief minister in 2023 over a fake degree scandal.
On July 26, 2024, he was accused of threatening security institutions, including the chief secretary and the election commissioner, during a public rally in Gilgit. He had been evading court hearings since then, leading to his absence during the trial.
The court instructed the region’s police chief to ensure Khurshid’s immediate arrest and transfer to prison. It also ordered the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to block his identity card.
“This is purely a judicial matter,” Faizullah Faraq, G-B’s spokesperson, told Arab News while confirming the verdict. “We won’t comment on it.”
Meanwhile, Col (r) Obaidullah Baig, a PTI member in G-B’s legislative assembly, said his party respected judicial processes but noted that the verdict did not “fully reflect the true circumstances and principles of justice.”
“We are currently evaluating all legal options and discussing the possibility of an appeal to ensure that the rights of the accused are upheld and that a fair trial is conducted,” he told Arab News. “As a matter of fact, the constitution remains suspended in Pakistan and after the controversial 26th amendment, the independence of judiciary in G-B and Pakistan is questionable.”
Baig maintained that the former chief minister had always been an advocate for democratic values, free speech, and peaceful discourse.
“The allegations that his speeches incited violence or undermined state institutions are completely baseless,” he said, adding that Khurshid had only asked the security establishment and intelligence agencies about “their meddling into the region’s political matters” in the context of his government’s downfall.
He maintained that the sentence would only serve to strengthen the ex-chief minister’s resolve and further energize his supporters across G-B and Pakistan.
“It is likely to galvanize his political career, as it highlights the ongoing political struggles and the misuse of state power to target opposition figures,” the PTI lawmaker added.
G-B spokesperson, Faraq, however, emphasized it was important to uphold the rule of law.
“I just want to say that we should respect our state institutions,” he added. “Everyone should follow the law. No one ... is above the law and the constitution.”
Pakistan-origin Sadiq Khan receives knighthood in King’s New Year honors
- Khan grew up in south London as one of eight siblings in a working-class family
- He calls it ‘the honor of my life to serve the city I love’ in a social media message
ISLAMABAD: London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the son of Pakistani immigrants, has been awarded a knighthood in King Charles’s New Year honors list, recognizing his contributions to public service and leadership in one of the world’s most dynamic cities, according to his social media post on Tuesday.
Khan, who grew up on a council estate in south London as one of eight siblings in a working-class family, faced numerous challenges on his path to becoming the capital’s mayor. His father worked as a bus driver and his mother was a seamstress, instilling in him a strong work ethic and a commitment to social mobility.
A trained lawyer, Khan entered politics as a Labour Party member and has been re-elected as London’s mayor three times, overcoming criticism over crime rates and housing issues in the city.
“Truly humbled to have received a knighthood in the King’s New Year’s Honours,” Khan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I’d one day be Mayor of London. It’s the honor of my life to serve the city I love.”
The King’s New Year honors list includes more than 1,200 individuals from various fields, including politics, sports, arts and community service.
Other notable recipients include Gareth Southgate, former England soccer manager, and Keely Hodgkinson, Paris Olympics gold medalist, who were also awarded knighthoods.
The honors, which date back to 1890, aim to celebrate contributions to national life, both from prominent figures and unsung heroes.
With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan unveils National Economic Plan with $10 billion annual investment target
- PM Sharif emphasizes to adopt mechanisms driving the country to export-led growth
- Pakistan has grappled with economic crises that brought it close to default last year
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday launched Pakistan’s five-year homegrown National Economic Plan, targeting an annual investment goal of $10 billion as the country seeks to recover from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.
Pakistan has faced a series of economic challenges in recent years, including a balance-of-payments crisis, dwindling foreign exchange reserves and a depreciating national currency. The new plan, titled “Uraan Pakistan,” or “Fly Pakistan,” aims to transition the country from its current macroeconomic stability to sustainable growth.
In July, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal announced the plan would be based on the 5Es framework — exports, energy, economic growth, education and equality — to foster stability and lay the groundwork for Pakistan’s future growth.
Speaking at the launch ceremony in Islamabad, Sharif emphasized that the government’s role was to promote business opportunities in the private sector and serve as a catalyst for economic progress.
“I want to tell you that our goal of investment will be $10 billion yearly,” Sharif said, urging the country’s affluent classes to also chip in and make sacrifices for the country.
Emphasizing the need to develop a strategy for an industrial and agricultural framework, he said the government must create a mechanism that drives people toward export-led growth.
“What we need is export-led growth,” he noted. “You have to create an environment for exports and also give incentives.”
The prime minister said the dollars needed to repay the country’s debt could only be earned through increased exports, urging people to withdraw money from banks amid declining interest rates to invest in the industrial and agricultural framework to boost exports and create productive employment.
He highlighted that Pakistan’s exports had grown by 11 percent, remittances by 24 percent and IT exports by 34 percent in the past five months.
Terming export-led growth as the pivot of “Uraan Pakistan,” he said tax reduction in the IT sector had helped the country strengthen digital economy.
Earlier, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the gathering that the economic plan stood on a handful of pillars.
“Firstly, our growth will be driven by exports to avoid the boom-bust cycles we have experienced in recent years,” he maintained. “Secondly, the private sector must take the lead in driving the country’s progress.”
Pakistan agreed to a 37-month, $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, promising the lender economic reforms in exchange. These reforms include increasing the tax base, regulating the energy sector and privatizing loss-making state-owned enterprises.
Aurangzeb hoped the five-year plan would put Pakistan on an upward economic trajectory in the next two to three years to ensure that this becomes the last IMF program the country would ever have to resorts to.
Pakistan is working actively to collaborate with regional allies in trade, defense, agriculture and other key sectors of the economy to attract foreign investment and brighten its economic prospects.
It has also enhanced bilateral trade and investment ties with close allies like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Central Asian states and other Gulf countries.
Last year, the country was on the verge of a sovereign debt default before Islamabad managed to clinch a last-gasp $3 billion IMF bailout to helped its economy stay afloat.
Pakistan’s finance minister has repeatedly said the country needs to undertake stringent economic reforms and develop itself as an export-led economy to achieve sustainable growth.
Karachi police crack down on religio-political party’s days-long protest
- Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen is holding sit-in protests in solidarity with people of violence-hit Kurram district
- The Karachi police chief warned demonstrators of action a day earlier if they continued to disrupt public life
KARACHI: Police on Tuesday launched a crackdown on the main protest organized by the religio-political party Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), leaving several, including cleric Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi, injured, according to a spokesperson for the group.
The MWM has been staging sit-ins at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest against sectarian violence in the northwestern Kurram district. Home to around 600,000 people, Kurram is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and has long been a hotspot for tribal and sectarian conflicts, with authorities struggling to maintain control.
The area’s volatile situation has necessitated travel in convoys escorted by security personnel, but this measure failed to prevent a deadly ambush on November 21, when gunmen attacked a convoy, killing 52 people, mostly Shias.
At least 136 people have so far lost their lives in the violence that followed, as a grand jirga, or traditional council of political and tribal elders, continues efforts to mediate between rival factions, though the unrest has now spilled beyond Kurram.
Police in Karachi moved against the central MWM protest camp at Numaish Chowrangi on Tuesday afternoon after days of complaints that life in the city had been brought to a near standstill, triggering clashes during the crackdown.
“Alama Hasan Zafar Naqvi is among many wounded in police attack,” Ahmer Naqvi, spokesperson of MWM told Arab News.
Prior to that, police and paramilitary Rangers used tear gas to disperse protesters and cleared Abul Hasan Isfahani Road near Abbas Town and Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.
Addressing a press conference, Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi condemned the action and vowed that the group would not only continue its sit-in but also expand it to other parts of the city.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah took notice of protesters setting vehicles on fire, his office said in a statement.
“No permission will be given to cause damage to public or private property in any form,” Shah was quoted as saying. “Everyone has the right to protest, but damaging city property in this manner is incitement to violence.”
The CM said legal action would be taken against those who set vehicles on fire. Shah also directed the police to improve the situation in Karachi.
“The chief minister has instructed the additional inspector general of police to eliminate disorder in the city and submit an immediate report,” the statement said.
The Karachi police chief on Monday warned demonstrators of action if the protests continued to disrupt public life.
The Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the MWM’s rival religious group, also threatened to hold counter-protests at 60 locations in Karachi if the MWM sit-in was not brought to an end.
