The Cyber Crime Ordinance

Governments of the industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind....You have no sovereignty where we gather....You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an excuse to invade our precincts....These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. (A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow, February 8, 1996.)
This declaration, coming exactly two hundred and twenty years after the Declaration of Independence by several American states, unequivocally and forcefully pronounces that the political governments do not have any jurisdiction whatsoever in the cyber domain, and that any such wanton interference in the form of draconian laws and ordinances will be resisted with resilience and fortitude by the cyber community.
The present government, however, seems to be oblivious to and undeterred by, this categorical declaration by the cyber community, which has now grown to encompass the mobile phone users, apart from the traditional Internet users. The recent changes in the Cyber Crimes (Prevention of Electronic crimes) Ordinance 2008, which is actually a re-promulgation of the ordinance originally introduced by Musharraf regime in 2007, not only smack of dictatorial tendencies on part of the government which believes in legislation through ordinances, but also aim to quell the right to freedom of expression in the country in the name of national interest, as has been the proclivity of the previous governments - whether elected or unelected.
As per these amendments in the ordinance, sending indecent, provocative and ill-motivated messages through e-mails and SMS is an offence, which entails an imprisonment of 14 years along with the confiscation of property. Apparently, these amendments in the ordinance are directed towards those who are ridiculing, and spreading ill-motivated anecdotes about, the government through the use of mobile phones and Internet. This article discusses the background, motives, implications and legality of the ordinance in general and the recent amendments in particular.
To start with, one must appreciate the far-sightedness of the government for realising that in this highly technical and computer-savvy age, traditional modes of mass communication like radio. newspapers and TV do not pose a serious threat to the national interest and even if they do, they could be regulated and controlled with the help of PEMRA, as has been done during Musharraf's regime when the historic Lawyers Movement was at its peak. The real danger, which was realised quite belatedly by Musharraf government to its detriment, on the other hand, lies in free and uncensored usage of the cyber space, i.e., SMS. emails, blogs etc, which cannot be monitored and regulated easily.