‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs

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WHY the Council of Islamic Ideology chose to step into the debate defies understanding. After all, the institution usually remains a silent spectator while the powerful do as they please.

For example, one does not recall the CII’s position on whether enforced disappearances are in line with Islamic values or whether collective punishment is permitted by religion. Yet on Friday, it barged into a raging controversy over internet censorship to endorse and commend the government’s decision to ban VPNs, condemning the technology as a tool for spreading evil and immorality and undermining Pakistan’s Islamic values. One wonders what information or facts the CII based its assessment on. No serious study has yet been undertaken by any government authority to determine how VPNs are used in Pakistan or to what extent they are contributing to ‘corrupting’ society as compared to the other ignominies inflicted on the Pakistani people. What, really, was the cause of its moral panic?

Clearly, very few took the CII’s perspective seriously. Just about an hour after the council issued its edict, the prime minister of Pakistan posted a congratulatory message on social media platform X for the Sri Lankan president on his party’s victory in recently held polls. He could not have done so without a VPN because X has been blocked for all Pakistani citizens since February. In fact, many government functionaries have continued to post on the platform in outright defiance of the ban, giving the lie to the state’s official concerns about the ‘misuse’ of X and VPNs.

It is, therefore, quite unfortunate to see religion being utilised to justify a ban that even government functionaries do not appear to believe in. It is regrettable that the government chose the CII for this purpose and a matter of concern that the council has allowed itself to be used in this manner. It will only diminish its standing.

If curbing pornography is really the country’s foremost concern while it stumbles from one crisis to the next, there must be better ways to do so. Resorting to ham-handed measures that could not only stifle the growth of Pakistan’s budding digital economy but also dissuade foreign investors from taking it seriously cannot be the way. For one, these measures will directly impact the prospects of countless young entrepreneurs hoping to make a mark in the global digital economy, leaving them angry and frustrated.

Further, if official policies continue to be guided by an obsession with controlling dissent and curtailing criticism of powerful quarters, the clampdown on social media may widen further, which will compound the negative impact on a broad range of industries that now rely on e-commerce and digital marketing for growth. The authorities should consider these consequences lest they end up causing lasting damage to the country.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2024