When it comes to freedom, should that include the right to express discontent and criticism online with your government? Not just the government either, but every extension of it—the police and the military as well. Should people be free to criticize the people, these organizations, who rule over them?
Freedom of expression differs around the world and the more authoritarian the state is, the more that we see free speech get censored, discouraged, and prohibited.
When it comes to countries that consider themselves to be democracies or those who have aligned themselves with organizations like the U.N., on the surface you might assume that they have an affinity to respect free speech and stand-up for it rather than try to infringe upon it, but we know that this isn't always the case.
It takes guts to speak out against something when the majority of the people around you don't agree with you, or you are putting yourself at risk by speaking out. I think our world is better off thanks to the people who have the courage to stand up for what they believe is right. And patriotism has quite rightly been described as a willingness to challenge the government whenever it is perceived to be acting in the wrong.
The government, ideally, is supposed to represent and serve the people and so why then should the people ever be restricted from voicing their concern or opinion about the organization?
It is a detriment to the people and their freedom, to try and silence that voice of criticism, which is why it bothers me to see authorities cracking down on social media critics lately in Pakistan, who have been expressing discontent with the nation's military.
A new cyber crime law was passed in the country last year, and it's alleged that authorities are using that legislation in order to track social media critics of the military. It's alleged that at least 200 social media accounts have already been investigated, accounts that have posted content which criticizes the armed forces or casts them in a negative light.
According to a statement from the Interior Minister himself, unwarranted criticism for the government is not going to be tolerated. This coming from a country that is a part of the U.N. and is alleged to uphold and respect the natural right to freedom of expression; according to their own Constitution.
Multiple lawmakers and many activists have already expressed concern for the recent crackdown and they say the new rules are aimed at squashing political dissent. Dozens of people have also already been interviewed by authorities, who had their accounts investigated over the matter.
Street protests have been threatened, if the crackdown on free speech doesn't stop.
The HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) has already come out and strongly criticized the move by the government to punish critics of the military. They have demanded that the state put an end to their actions in trying to curb freedom of expression online.
If people are free, then they should be free to express their criticisms of the government without any fear of retaliation from that government.
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Sources:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/05/23/pakistan-cracks-down-on-social-media-critics-military.html
https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/23/pakistan-investigates-army-critics-on-social-media/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-internet-idUSKCN10N0ST
https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-social-media-crackdown-alarms-critics/3862421.html