Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country’s telecommunication regulator, has released a public statement urging users to report “blasphemous” content shared by “atheists and miscreants” that they come across on social media.
In the statement released on Tuesday and shared on the authority’s social media pages, sections of the Pakistan Penal Code dealing with blasphemy have been listed, along with the punishments they carry.
The statement encourages users to report the content to the PTA or relevant social media platforms. “Atheists and miscreants are destroying the young generation’s faith and values by running an organized blasphemous campaign against Islam on social media,” the message says.
Human rights activists have criticized the notification, which comes weeks after a man in the northwestern district of Swat was lynched by a mob on allegations of blasphemy. Accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan often result in violent attacks and mob lynching, and the authorities have repeatedly failed to protect victims from extremist mobs.
Social media users said that the PTA is encouraging violence in the name of blasphemy by amplifying extremist groups’ narrative.
Journalist Arshad Yousafzai said the government was “facilitating” the extremist outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a group known for its hate speech and incitement to violence in the name of blasphemy.
Activist Yasser Hamdani wrote, “PTA has been taken over by religious fanatics.”
A spokesperson for the PTA did not immediately respond to Dissent Today‘s request for comment.
