Netizens dub Pak law ‘cyber terror’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cyber buffs are fretting over a new move by the government to crack down on indecent emails and SMS text messages under which they can be jailed for up to 14 years.

Fatima Bhutto, niece of slain ex-PM Benazir Bhutto, was the first to air apprehensions about the laws against cyber terrorism which threaten death to satirists, spammers and activists alike.

Pakistan’s so-called democratic government has introduced a bill before parliament, the prevention of electronic crimes ordinance that aims to censor our already frightened media and censured citizenry.

According to the bill, anyone found guilty of “cyber terrorism”, an undefined crime is liable to face the death penalty, she wrote in the Guardian.

The Cyber Crime Act has become a cause for much consternation among cyber-buffs. Ahsan, who blogs at fiverupees.blogspot.com, wrote that “the act is draconian in the extreme and its effect on civil liberties will be vast.”

A senior official said overseas Pakistanis can be deported to Pakistan if they violate the cyber crimes law.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4787204,prtpage-1.cms)