Yet again the Interior Minister gets in action. This times constituted a committee to examine draft bill regarding misuse of electronic equipment i.e. emails, SMS, MMS in anti-state activities detrimental to the national security. This comes in wake of the recent change in political winds and anti-state messages been floated on emails, mobile phones etc.. As reported by the APP:

The committee headed by Secretary Interior would brief the Minister within one week regarding the proposed legislation. He was chairing a meeting on the subject of “misuse of electronic equipments, i.e. internet, email, SMS/MMS and to take remedial measures to curb the menace of such illegal activities with iron hands.

Secretary Interior, Secretary, Information Technology,Chairman Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Inspector General Sindh, Members FBR and Representatives of Intelligence Agencies attended the meeting.

Once again the Multiple and illegal SIMs got under the gun:

It was observed that the criminals are still using unauthorized mobile SIMS for their criminal activities and terrorists’ acts, bank robbery, target killings and other heinous crimes.

The Minister directed Chairman PTA to revisit the whole system and ensure that all those illegal SIMS which are being used on stolen identity shall be blocked.

Mobile number portability (MNP) was also discussed to be banned in wake of misuse associated with them. Any kind of misuse to be booked under Anti-Terrorism Act.

The meeting decided that in view of the grave complaints, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) by the service providers is banned in future and anybody found violating should be booked under Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 as it is against the national security.

Anybody misusing, sending threatening emails or tampering with email address, mobile phone via SMS, MMS etc shall be dealt with under ATA and other relevant sections of law.

Chairman PTA and Secretary IT have been directed to immediately hold a meeting with service providers and convey the concerns of the government and ensure that their services are not misused by anti-slate and anti-social elements, putting the security of the country in danger.

The SMS filtering policy was also discussed.

The meeting also decided that the service providers shall have to have their own monitoring system to block such detrimental communication as mentioned above in coordination with the PTA.

The meeting decided to identify “obscene words” or anti state wordings, being used by anti-social elements and they shall be entered in the system to be blocked.

The service providers would ensure that they will not advertise anything against social norms and customs and they will not support any media programme with content that brings government into disrepute, scandalizes it or is against the national honour and security.

The Minister also directed PTA and other authorities that while taking such remedial measures, it would be ensured that general public may not face any problem and no site would be blocked.

All those who receive threatening messages or anti state messages,the same should be brought to the notice of Ministry of Interior through the following email and telephone numbers for taking legal action against the senders under ATA, 1997 & other sections of law.

via Associated Press of Pakistan

Update

Other point of views on the minister’s nonsense:

1. Rehman Malik back with Tech-Blunders
2. Government to ban MNP (Mobile Number Portability) – Another one by Rehman Malik

The Civil Coalition of Youth Revolution (CCYR) announced rejection of the Gulf’s agreement which was signed by President Saleh’s regime and the opposition Wednesday in Riyadh.
The following is the official statement issued by the group. It should be noted that the great majority of Yemeni are against an immunity clause for Saleh, his family and close aides.
For weeks the Youth and the people of Yemen have called on the international community to trial Saleh and all those accused of aiding him; urging the UN to not condone a deal which in essence would “reward crimes against humanity” just as long one is a dictator, renouncing the very principles which the United Nations were built upon and render the Human Rights convention powerless by setting a dangerous legal precedent.

The Declaration of Youth Revolution Demands
____________

We, the men and women of Yemen, began our peaceful revolution to overthrow the regime of Ali Abdallah Saleh ruler of our country who led us to chaos, conflict, poverty, ignorance, illness, lawlessness and absence of equal citizenship. We are aware that removing this regime will not be accomplished by only the departure of Saleh and his family from power, but it will rather be accomplished when the state building process begins in establishing a civil modern Yemeni state that will restore peace, stability, sovereignty, and most of all dignity for the Yemeni people. For this reason, we, the youth representing groups in the change and freedom squares across the country have prepared a declaration of demands that ensures the achievement of the revolution goals and protects its gains.

The “Declaration of the Youth Revolution Demands” presents a vision for the immediate and procedural steps that ensures the achievement of the revolution’s primary goal: to end Saleh’s regime. Without the implementation of these demands during the transitional period, which will commence the moment Saleh leaves, we, the youth, vow to continue the protests in the change and freedom squares across the country until our demands are met.
The Declaration is the product of extensive discussions and several drafts that were developed over the course of four weeks amongst more than one hundred youth and civil society organizations, youth movements and change alliances, who together form the Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution for Change (CCYRC), in Sana’a, Aden, Taiz, Hadramot, Hodeida, Maarib, Dhamar, Al-Jawf, Lahj, Al-Baidha’a.
The first meeting took place at the change square in Sana’a with representatives from 30 different movements and alliances. This group started surveying the demands and aspirations of the revolution and produced the first declaration draft. In order to enable wide participation for Yemeni youth to determine their future, the draft was disseminated widely along with a questionnaire to all the movements and alliances in the change and freedom squares in the other governorates. Additionally, discussions on Facebook pages were initiated and ensured that many Yemeni men and women inside and outside the country had a chance to participate.
The draft also received technical support from distinguished Yemeni academics, intellects, legal advisors, and journalists.
The outcome of this participatory process was forming a consensus amongst over one hundred movements and alliances from different governorates about the terms of the final draft and approving the “Declaration of the Youth Revolution Demands”. We at CCYRC, invite all the contributors to the revolution, the political powers, and parties in Yemen and outside to review, support, and adopt the Declaration.
_____________________________________

Declaration Articles

1) Remove the current regime peacefully and remove all its figures and all members of the President’s family and his relatives from all leadership posts in the military and civil institutions.
2) Forming a Transitional Presidential Council that constitutes of 5 civil members that are widely known for their competency, integrity and experience. These members have to be approved by the revolution youth leaders and the national powers. Individuals that represent the previous regime should be excluded from the selection. The Transitional Presidential Board will have the responsibility to issue all decision and decrees that will ensure attaining the demands of the revolution. After serving in the Transitional Presidential Board, members will not have the right to run for President or Prime Minister posts until one electoral cycle is completed.
3) After overthrowing the regime the Board has to declare a six month transitional period. This period starts with a constitutional decree announcing the termination of the current constitution and dissolving the Parliament, the Shura Council and the Local Councils.
4) The Transitional Presidential Board will appoint a widely accepted national figure who will form a Transitional Cabinet of qualified technocrats within one month.
5) A Transitional National Board to be formed and include representatives of the youth and all political and national powers. The Transitional National Board will provide:
a) A solution for the Southern issue that yields a fair and satisfactory response
b) A solution for the Sa’ada Case issue that resolves the preceding effects.
c) Monitoring the performance of the Transitional Presidential Board and the Transitional Cabinet.
d) Forming a new Supreme Council for Elections which will be responsible for correcting the voter records and preparing for free and fair elections during the transitional period.
e) Selecting a Drafting Committee of reliable legal advisors to propose a new constitution for a civil, democratic and modern state that has: a republican parliamentary system based on proportional list-based electoral system, and a system of social justice and equal citizenship. The new constitution has to be completed within three months from its initiation, and the then put for national referendum.
6) Restructuring the higher judicial council to ensure the full separation and impartiality of the judicial authority.
7) Dissolving the Ministry of Information and forming an independent higher authority that will ensure freedom of expression and diversification of media and communication outlets.
Dissolving the Ministry of Human Rights and creating an independent higher council for human rights.
9) Legally pursue and prosecute the corrupt officials and retrieve public property and money.
10) Immediate release of all political detainees and the missing persons and dissolving extraordinary courts and private prisons.
11) Legal persecution of all individuals that caused, assisted and incited the killing and injury of those who participated in the peaceful demonstrations. Deliver appropriate compensations to the families of the deceased and honor them duly.
12) Dissolving the Political Security Forces and National Security Forces, and forming a new dedicated national security agency under the umbrella of the Ministry of Interior. The new national security agency will be responsible for observing Yemen’s external threats.
13) Merging the Republican Guards with the Military Forces, and dissolving the National Defense Council to ensure full impartiality of the Army and Security Forces.

I recently came across two worthwhile pieces on Persian Gulf states punching above their weight. The first is a New York Times analysis of Qatar, the lil’ oil rich country that could:

Qatar is smaller than Connecticut, and its native population, at 225,000, wouldn’t fill Cairo’s bigger neighborhoods. But for a country that inspires equal parts irritation and admiration, here is its résumé, so far, in the Arab revolts: It has proved decisive in isolating Syria’s leader, helped topple Libya’s, offered itself as a mediator in Yemen and counts Tunisia’s most powerful figure as a friend.

This thumb-shaped spit of sand on the Persian Gulf has emerged as the most dynamic Arab country in the tumult realigning the region. Its intentions remain murky to its neighbors and even allies — some say Qatar has a Napoleon complex, others say it has an Islamist agenda. But its clout is a lesson in what can be gained with some of the world’s largest gas reserves, the region’s most influential news network in Al Jazeera, an array of contacts (many with an Islamist bent), and policy-making in an absolute monarchy vested in the hands of one man, its emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Qatar has become a vital counterpoint in an Arab world where traditional powers are roiled by revolution, ossified by aging leaderships, or still reeling from civil war, and where the United States is increasingly viewed as a power in decline.

The next one is about the big boy of the Gulf, Saudia Arabia, and it comes from the Washington Post’s David Ignatius, who sees the House of Saud filling a power gap left by a ‘declining’ United States:

The more-assertive Saudi role has been clear in its open support for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is Iran’s crucial Arab ally. The Saudis were decisive backers of last weekend’s Arab League decision to suspend Syria‘s membership (though they also supported the organization’s waffling decision on Wednesday to send another mediation team to Damascus).

Money is always the Saudis’ biggest resource, and they are planning to spend it more aggressively as a regional power broker — roughly double their armed forces over the next 10 years and spend at least $15 billion annually to support countries weakened economically by this year’s turmoil.

Saudi sources provided an unofficial summary of the defense buildup. The army will add 125,000 to its estimated current force of 150,000; the national guard will grow by 125,000 from an estimated 100,000; the navy will spend more than $30 billion buying new ships and sea-skimming missiles; the air force will add 450 to 500 planes; and the Ministry of Interior is boosting its police and special forces by about 60,000. The Saudis are also developing their own version of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.

There’s a lot of talk about an American pivot to the Pacific and East Asia, and rightly so, but the Middle East has a way of drawing you back in. In the recent actions and strategic maneuvers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar we can see why.