14.01.2014 Cybercrime legislation
IT has been done before, and the state seems to be in danger of doing it again: crafting laws that appear to increase citizens’ freedoms and strengthen law and order, but contain mischief-making provisions or caveats that achieve, quite often, the contrary. The new compendium of laws that the government is set to present before the cabinet, which if passed by the parliament would become the Electronic Documents and Prevention of Cybercrimes Act, 2014, must be viewed through this lens.
This legislation consolidates and updates the several different laws that apply at the moment to crimes related to cyber activity and information technology. It also promotes electronic and computerised business through creating space in the system for facilities such as e-signatures, and tailors to current needs legislation such as the Power of Attorney Act, 1881. To be sure, there is a need for this. Internet penetration and technological prowess may be low when the country as a whole is looked at, but usage is growing exponentially amongst those sections of society that have access. Legislation has to keep pace. The draft law contains several provisions that are without doubt required in Pakistan, identifying as cognisable crimes activities from hacking or identity theft to cyber stalking, domain squatting and the transmission of child pornography.
Yet a close reading of the draft reveals portions that are worded such that there is danger of them, if passed into law, being loosely or widely applied, becoming a tool for censorship, or being otherwise misused. Consider, for example, cyber attacks that are described as being “against Pakistan’s interests.” That is precisely the sort of mindset that led to a blanket ban on YouTube instead of the targeted removal of some objectionable content available on the site. Similarly, the draft contains references to “crimes against the state committed with the aid and help of modern technology” and the use of electronic devices to “attack national infrastructure” and otherwise cause “significant problems to the interests of the state.” As Pakistanis already know all too well, when used in legislation such turns of phrase can become means of muzzling critical or dissenting views, and of removing from the citizenry’s ambit material or ideas without justification other than the much-misused ‘national interest’. The draft will be reviewed by parliament when it is presented and legislators must scan it thoroughly for areas of difficulty such as the ones pointed out here. Further, however, given the manner in which such a law will impact citizens’ technological freedoms, open debate on it needs to be initiated. The draft should be made public, and citizens as well as civil society organisations should be provided the opportunity to express reservations, if any. Once in place, laws are difficult to amend. In this instance, sections likely to become problematic can be revised in time.
Cynical manoeuvres
IT is fast becoming a Sunday tradition of sorts: Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan appearing before the cameras and holding forth on a range of subjects, most notably the chimera of talks with the TTP. If it were simply about one of the senior-most government representatives trying to keep the public and the media in the loop about important national issues, the Nisar-on-Sunday press conferences would be a welcome addition to the public discourse. But the motives appear to be more cynical than high-minded. For the interior minister is the very same individual who has muzzled high-profile national organisations that fall under his watch — from Nadra to the Frontier Corps and from the passport agency to the Rangers — and who seems more obsessed with controlling the flow of information than focusing on the core aspects of his job. So, not coincidentally, now the minister has chosen the weekly holiday to hold forth on his views — and capture the headlines on what is traditionally a slow news day.
Of late, interior ministers have appeared to have a penchant for the media spotlight. But as Rehman Malik discovered, so too might Nisar Ali Khan: wanting to say something of relevance or import isn’t the same thing as saying something of relevance or import. Yet again on Sunday, the interior minister offered his contradictory assessment of the state of dialogue with the TTP: the TTP is not really interested in talks, the minister said, but the government is adamant that talks can in fact succeed. That would be silliness of the highest order — if the stakes were not so incredibly high. The interior minister appears to have staked his personal reputation on the success of talks with the Taliban — but characteristically for much of this government, he does not appear to have done any of his homework. Now, having learned of the difficulties that talks entail, Nisar Ali Khan is demonstrating that other great shortcoming of many Pakistani leaders: an inability to accept that they were wrong in their original prescription. Unhappily, while the interior minister can try and make a tradition out of Sunday grandstanding, that does little to address the fearful problems he has to contend with on the country’s behalf.
Heritage under threat
LAND-grabbing is a serious problem across Pakistan, as is encroachment and poor governmental oversight vis-à-vis new development. State or private land is gobbled up with impunity, and even historical sites are not spared. Islamabad and its surroundings are also not immune, as encroachers have occupied some of the capital’s most historically important sites. As reported by this paper on Monday, ancient Buddhist caves in the Shah Allah Ditta area of the Margalla hills are being threatened by commercial activities. Restaurants and housing colonies sprouting up in the picturesque environs pose a threat to the ancient caves, which are said to contain paintings dating back 2,400 years. As some observers note, in many cases such enterprises are illegal, built in defiance of court orders. Apparently the Capital Development Authority had drawn up plans to preserve the caves, but they remain on ice. Elsewhere in the capital’s surroundings, Taxila — a World Heritage Site — is also facing dangers from encroachers and commercial interests, while the Paharwala Fort needs protection from land-grabbers. What is more, not far from the caves of Shah Allah Ditta lies a mosque said to date back to the Ghaznavid period, as well as a stupa and monastery belonging to the Buddhist period. If efforts are not made to stop the illegal occupation of land, these sites may be next in line to be taken over and commercialised.
Apart from putting historical treasures in peril, of which there are many in the Islamabad region, such unplanned ‘development’ also puts the environment at risk. There is a lot of space to build housing societies and eateries; why spoil the environment or damage archaeological treasures just to make a quick buck? The CDA, archaeology authorities and other government organs must play a more active role in preserving Islamabad’s heritage and environment. For one thing, the plan to preserve the Buddhist caves must be reactivated while other historical sites in the capital region need to be protected from the rapacious land mafia.