“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it”. Voltaire



Freedom of speech is declared to be a fundamental right of all human beings in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and also the American Declaration of Independence, which defines certain inalienable rights of people, namely the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. An integral part of liberty is the right of all individuals to express themselves, for no matter how homogenous a society is, there are bound to be differences of opinion, and these differences need to be expressed. This need is well-expressed by Justice Thurgood Marshall, who says that the human spirit is such that it demands expression, and without an outlet of such expression, it would suffocate.

While no state in the world allows complete freedom of speech, a developed democratic state can be recognised by the amount of freedom it gives in this regard. Pakistan, not surprisingly, is conservative when it comes to allowing freedom of speech; the state laws, actions, and societal norms being a reflection of this fact.

The Pakistani Constitution allows complete freedom of speech, but the listed exceptions to this make a mockery of the ‘free speech’ clause. As stated by Article 19 of The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan:

“Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defense of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court [commission of] or incitement to an offence.” (Article 19, Pakistani Constitution 1973)

What is meant by terms such as ‘decency’ and ‘morality’ is anybody’s guess, and their being stated in the Constitution allows the government to virtually curtail this so-called freedom of speech whenever it pleases. Also, many pieces of legislation have been passed which further emphasize that the press is not free in Pakistan. The Defamation Ordinance 2002, and its amendment, for example, imposes heavy fines and imprisonment on people held guilty under this law. These examples go to show that even though theoretically there may be ‘freedom of the press’ in Pakistan, practically, it is under severe threat as is illustrated by the Reporters without Borders report published in 2005, which ranked Pakistan as 150th in the list of countries for freedom of the press.

Freedom of speech has been a controversial issue in Pakistan since the creation of the state. With 4 military dictators since its creation, it is not surprising that freedom of speech has been curtailed severely in Pakistan, with great writers such as Faiz and Manto suffering as a result. As was seen in the Mithi Case, in which a cable operator’s license was cancelled because he played a few bhajans for the Hindu majority of Mithi region, religious minorities suffer two-fold because of restrictions of freedom of speech in the country. Even in the so-called ‘enlightened’ rule of President Musharraf, the press in Pakistan is not free, and while TV channels such as Geo, AAJ, and ARY Digital have been given licenses to operate, these licenses can be taken away without any explanation by the government. Strict PEMRA laws still apply to the mass media operating from within Pakistan, as was illustrated by the recent attempt of the press to cover the Chief Justice reference, which resulted in near abolition of live telecasts. It is often said that PTV news gives an ‘all is well’ impression, a view which Pakistan Muslim League General- Secretary Senator Mushahid Hussain confirmed by stating in a “Private Media for a Free Civil Society” conference that “PTV Khabarnama is supposed to say everything is going right, so that people can sleep peacefully.” This example is a good illustration of the fact that the Pakistani Government believes that ‘ignorance is bliss’ is a good policy to follow as far as free speech and the right of the Pakistani people to know what is happening in their country are concerned.

While state laws and behavior greatly determine whether or not a nation has freedom of speech, the tolerance levels of the society also need to be considered when looking at the ethical construct of freedom in Pakistan. Like the renowned philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville observes, people may be hesitant to speak freely “not because of fear of government but because of social pressure”. It seems as though the Pakistani society is averse to the idea of freedom of expression, as can be illustrated by the people’s reaction to Manto’s stories like Thanda Gosht and Siyah Hashiyay. Also, with the history of protests and demonstrations turning violent in the country, it can also be questioned whether the Pakistani nation is responsible enough to deserve freedom of speech, for with rights come certain obligations, and with liberty comes responsibility.

http://thepost.com.pk/vis.aspx#Position