THIS refers to news regarding the approval of a ‘Cyber crime bill’ by a standing committee of parliament before being put to vote in the National Assembly. It is an alarming development insofar as the way the bill has been drafted.

The bill instead of focusing on protections against cyber crime plans, in fact, to muzzle criticism of certain institutions, giving carte blanche to the state to censor any website that goes against the state narrative.

The bill, instead of focusing on the technical aspects, has gone into the domain of censorship. If passed in its present shape, it will be challenged in court in view of the constitutional freedoms enshrined in the 1973 Constitution.

Brig (r) Raashid Wali Janjua

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2015

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