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Freedom of Expression in Pakistan: a Myth Or a Reality

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Freedom of Expression in Pakistan: a Myth Or a Reality Working Paper # 159 Freedom of Expression in Pakistan: A myth or a reality By: Sadaf Liaquat, Ayesha Qaisrani, Elishma Noel Khokhar All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher. A publication of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). The opinions expressed in the papers are solely those of the authors, and publishing them does not in any way constitute an endorsement of the opinion by the SDPI. Sustainable Development Policy Institute is an independent, non-profit research institute on sustainable development. First edition: October 2016 © 2016 by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute Mailing Address: PO Box 2342, Islamabad, Pakistan Telephone: 0092-51-2278134, 2278136, 2277146, 2270674-76 Fax: 0092-51-2278135, URL: www.sdpi.org Acronyms CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists CRSS Center for Research and Security Studies CSOs Community Service Organizations FDGs Focus Group Discussions HRW Human Rights Watch ISJ Institute of Social Justice KIIs Key Informant Interviews NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations PEMRA Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority RTI Right to Information US United States USCIRF U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Research Methodology ................................................................................................................... 3 3. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 4 4. Research Findings ........................................................................................................................... 7 4.1. Government/ bureaucracy...................................................................................................... 7 4.2. Parliamentarians ..................................................................................................................... 9 4.3. Traditional and social media ................................................................................................. 10 4.4. Military and intelligence agencies ........................................................................................ 11 4.5. Foreign influence .................................................................................................................. 12 4.6. Religious intolerance within the society/general public ....................................................... 12 5. Conclusion and Recommendations............................................................................................... 13 6. References .................................................................................................................................... 16 1 Abstract In Pakistan, freedom of expression is the constitutional right of every citizen; however, this right is seldom exercised due to red tape. This study intends to explore the current status of freedom of expression in the country with the aim to identify the factors and actors that/who can contribute/help to improve the situation in this context. The study adopts a qualitative approach to understand the power dynamics and draws out conclusions from a wide variety of stakeholders regarding the issues at hand. Conducted in the Punjab and Sindh provinces, the study concludes that freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed to all citizens of Pakistan albeit with certain restrictions that include ‘glory of Islam, law and order, and national security’. These restrictions have often been exploited against different groups of people such as minorities, journalists, human rights activists, etc. It has been observed that exploitation is resulting in piling up of cases, like blasphemy missing persons, and targeted killings. A thorough assessment showed that there is a dire need to address ambiguity about certain clauses in the Constitution to avoid any exploitation. Moreover, a comprehensive definition of freedom of expression needs to be redrawn and communicated to the masses so that they might not misinterpret it as a freedom to disregard others’ faiths, perceptions, and opinions. Keywords: Blasphemy, freedom of expression, freedom of speech, human rights, national security, religious minorities, etc. 2 1. Introduction Freedom of expression is globally recognized as the foundation of human rights, which are protected by a multitude of regional and international treaties, charters, and frameworks.1 In other words, freedom of speech/expression is an assurance to citizens to participate effectively in the functioning of democracy. Sun (2014) is of the view that: In a democratic society, freedom of expression not only empowers the decision makers to fully appreciate the strength of the diversity of opinions but also encourages the acceptance of such diverse views (Sun 2014). In today’s world, democratic governments face some challenges related to freedom of expression. The biggest challenge is how to ensure a balance between the provision of freedom of expression/speech amid ensuring law & order, peace and security within the country that owns diversity in terms of views, faiths and beliefs. Interestingly, even in the most liberal democracies of the world like the US, freedom of expression/speech is conditionally restricted. These restrictions are based on the experiences that make us believe that there is no such thing like absolute freedom of expression/speech because an unbridled use of this freedom would surely bring chaos and disorder (Chaudary 2014). Globally, it is not recognized as an unconditional right, as every democracy has developed some system of limitations in connection with the freedom of expression. According to an article published by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, limitations on the freedom of speech are imposed particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other values or rights and may be subject to legal sanction or social condemnation, or both (Van 2015). Like other democracies, Pakistan ensures the freedom of expression under certain limitations in terms of religion and national security. This paper intends to study the current status and emerging trends of freedom of expression in Pakistan. It also intends to explore the key factors and actors that play a vital role in defining the subject paradigm. 2. Research Methodology Conducted during August-September 2015, the locale of the study was Lahore, Multan and Khanewal districts in the Punjab, and Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Karachi, and Sukkur districts in Sindh. These sites were chosen for their risk factor, rural/ urban demography and multi-ethnic and multi-religious compositions, which would allow for greater cross-cultural comparisons. The districts selected from the Punjab are known to have reported most of the blasphemy cases. It may be mentioned that since the blasphemy law is more than often exploited in Pakistan, some links can be found with regard to the violation of freedom of expression (Ashraf 2014). According to the study, Lahore has the highest number of blasphemy cases, i.e. 101 reported cases whereas Multan and Khanewal have 81 and 20 such cases respectively. As far as Sindh is 1 The European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10; The American Convention on Human Rights, Article 9; The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 13; The Arab Charter on Human Rights, Article 32 3 concerned, 97 cases of blasphemy have been reported in Karachi (ibid.). Similarly, in 2012, scores of men led by Muslim clerics gathered at a Hindu Goth (village) in the outskirts of Karachi in retaliation to an anti-Islam movie released in the US. The protesters attacked the Sri Krishna Ram temple, harmed the religious scriptures, and beat up the temple's caretaker (Dawn 2012). Similarly, it is a well-known fact that Rinkle Kumari, a Sukkur based Hindu girl, was kidnapped, forcibly converted Muslim, and then married to a Muslim guy out of her will (BBC 2012). We used multiple methods in our qualitative research to construct a more comprehensive picture of the state of freedom of expression in the Punjab and Sindh. These include Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), group interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). A vital advantage of a mixed method approach was the likelihood of increased credibility of the qualitative data in case similar themes emerged across different methods. Type of Qualitative data Total interviews/FGDs Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) 46 (approximately 8 in each district) Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) 22 (approximately 3 in each district) A total of eight key informant interviews were conducted with stakeholders in each district. These included officials working in state institutions such as police, judiciary and administration. It also included pressure groups, those who keep a watchful eye on the state, such as the media, development sector employees (NGOs), civil society activists and academics. Lastly, to derive an insider’s view, religious representatives such as Pastors, Maulvis and Pundits were also interviewed. Where access to sensitive groups was difficult, for instance in the case of Ahmedi community, prominent members of the community were chosen to be interviewed
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