Syed Waqar Hussain

Recently the government announced that sending indecent, abused or ill-motivated stories and text messages through emails and sms was an offense under the Cyber Crime Act (CCA) and its violators could take you behind rods for 14 years.

An official announcement by the interior ministry said that the government was launching the campaign against circulation of what it called ill-motivated and concocted stories through emails and text messages against civilian leadership and security forces.

The announcement did not elaborate what was meant by ill-motivated e-messaged, but it is believed that the civilial leadership meant president, prime minister, interior minister and other politician.

According to a Dawn report, a senior official of the ministry was quoted as saying, “Sending indeent message is a crime under the cybercrime act and liable to punishment.”

The givernment has tasked the federal investigation agency’c cyber crime cell to block or tace such emails and mobile phones and text messages. under the cyber crime act, violators confiscation of prperly. similarly, any Pakistani living abroad and violating provisions of the act may be charged and will be liable to deportation or Pakistan.

Under the campaign, all internet service providers would be checked by the FIA on a regular basis. The checked said the campaign would also target proscribed organiations which had been using the internet for mailcious propaganda against security forces.

The Director General of FIA, Tariq Khosa, has been instructed to monitor and check stories and messaged and take necessary action under the CCA. The government effort to regulate electronic communication comes less than a month after the announcement of a 20 paisa tax on the sending of each SMS, a move that was retracted soon afterward following public uproar.