Under the Cyber Crimes Act, sending an SMS message or email containing defamation of the country’s civilian leadership or of the security forces is punishable with 14 years in jail, according to a statement by the Interior Ministry, which did not specifically define the crime.
In addition to jail time, offenders could have their property confiscated, and any Pakistani national living abroad and violating provisions of the act may be charged and liable for extradition to Pakistan.
“There is a rising criticism, especially among the youth, of the government’s policies,’ said Shaneen Buneri, The Media Line’s correspondent in Pakistan.
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“There are youth in the university campuses that are educated and politically aware. Sometimes they criticize the government’s policies by sending SMS messages between each other. There are also groups outside Pakistan who are critical of the government,” he said.
The enforcement of the new directive will be handled by the Pakistani Federal Investigation Agency, the equivalent of the FBI in the United States. The agency will have the authority to access all the country’s internet service providers and block or trace all suspicious messages.
The Pakistani government in Islamabad received widespread public support in its latest campaign against the Taliban in northern Pakistan and in the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan. The fighting has been seen as a struggle between the army and the Taliban without U.S. involvement, as previously the government has been accused of running Washington’s errands when fighting the Taliban. However, increasingly critical voices have been aired against the government’s treatment of the millions of displaced by the fighting – an estimated 3.4 million people fled their homes in what United Nations officials called the fastest and largest movement of people since Rwanda.
While the Pakistani government did establish numerous camps to facilitate the huge number of refugees, their efforts were not enough and many found shelter in the homes of relatives.
The offensive was launched in the districts of Lower Dir and Buner in the Swat Valley at the end of April after local Taliban leaders backtracked on a peace agreement. In May, it was expanded to South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan, an area considered a Taliban stronghold from which attacks could be launched in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Taliban are led by Maulana Fazalullah, also know as the FM Mullah for his weekly radio program during which he issues edicts on his strict interpretation of Islam.
Lately a spat has broken out between the spokesperson of the Taliban and the government regarding the condition of Fazalullah. The government claims that he has been seriously injured, while the Taliban claims that he is unharmed.