Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Report: Dark Fleet Tanker Had a Collision off Denmark

Chart showing Andromeda Star's trackline in the Kattegat — Andromeda Star made a sudden full stop on March 2 off Skagen (Pole Star)

A recent collision involving a "dark fleet" tanker has revived Denmark's worst fears about the ships that carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of Russian crude through the Danish Straits every day. If something should go wrong, it is unclear whether the true owner could be found, or whether an insurer would pay to cover the costs of a cleanup.

On March 2, the 15-year-old tanker Andromeda Star was involved in a collision with an unnamed vessel, the Danish Maritime Authority confirmed to Bloomberg. AIS data provided by Pole Star shows that at about 0700 hours that morning, the tanker slowed to a sudden stop as it rounded the northern tip of Jutland. The ship was in ballast condition at the time and was headed for a Russian port to load oil.

After the encounter, the Andromeda Star anchored south of Copenhagen until March 16, when it relocated to an anchorage next to the ship repair yard in Odense.

Andromeda Star was sold to undisclosed buyers four months ago, and its Equasis record has not been updated with the identity of the new owner. Its Indian manager, Margao Marine Solutions, was launched in late 2022 and operates three older tankers, all flagged in Panama.

The Star's P&I insurer is not listed in her Equasis record, and a search for her coverage information in the database of the International Group of P&I companies returns no results. The dark fleet has largely turned to using second-tier insurance options outside of the International Group, since the G7 price cap policy restricts which Russian cargoes are eligible for European or American coverage.

The risks of questionably-insured dark fleet tankers are at top of mind for Denmark's maritime regulators. Last week, investigative NGO DanWatch and the Financial Times reported that one of the largest alternative insurers - Russian firm Ingosstrakh - may deny casualty claims if the insured cargo breached the G7 price cap. Since insurance of this type is often purchased for that purpose, and many cargoes departing Russia's Baltic ports are known to breach the price cap, Denmark may face a substantial uninsured risk in the event of a spill - especially since many "dark fleet" tankers are approaching or beyond typical retirement age for a crude-carrying vessel.

Evergreen Containership and Smaller Bulker Collide off China

Chinese bulker damaged in collision — Listing bulker was brought to the dock after an 18 hour salvage operation (photos Qingdao Maritime Affairs)

Chinese officials released details on a collision between an Evergreen containership and a local bulk carrier. The accident last week required the evacuation of the crew from the smaller bulker which was severely damaged and remains under investigation.

The Qingdao Maritime Affairs Bureau reported that the Ever Lucid (105,000 dwt) was outbound from Qingdao after departing on March 13. The vessel was heading to Shanghai but on the morning of March 14 collided with the bulker Huahai 78 off the port of Qingdao.

No one was injured aboard either vessel despite significant damage to the bulker. The vessel, which is 289 feet (88 meters) in length, started taking on water flooding its engine room. The bridge of the vessel was also severely damaged leaving the vessel unable to navigate. The local authorities reported that an immediate evacuation was required of the vessel. The 12 crewmembers were transferred to the Ever Lucid to wait for transfer to shore.

Damage to the bridge and superstructure after the collision with the Evergreen containership

The bulker was taking on water but it stabilized and remained afloat. It however was severely listing. After analyzing the condition of the vessel, the maritime authorities said the decision was made to begin towing the ship to port taking advantage of the good weather and calm seas. It took two tugs and two escort boats nearly 18 hours to get the bulker to port. The vessel was docked on March 15 in Qingdao.

The Ever Lucid, registered in Taiwan and operating on a route between China and Asia to Vancouver, Canada and Tacoma, Washington, suffered only minor damage to its bow. Built in 2014, the vessel has a capacity of 8,500 TEU and is 1,099 feet (335 meters) in length. The containership was taken into the anchorage off the port for the investigation. The containership also remains in Qingdao.

No details were released on the possible causes of the accident. Pictures appear to show hazy conditions which might have limited visibility but the reports cited good weather conditions in the area.

COLD WAR REDUX

China Quietly Annexes Northeast Corner of Gulf of Tonkin

Earlier this month, China quietly turned a swathe of the Gulf of Tonkin into an extension of Chinese internal waters, simply by declaring a new baseline across the gulf's northeastern end. If Beijing's unilateral declaration stands, a crescent-shaped area extending up to 50 nautical miles from the Chinese coast will be fully subject to China's domestic laws.

Per UNCLOS, a normal baseline is the edge of the shoreline, and it is the starting point for measuring a nation's territorial sea. China has moved that starting line far offshore using UNCLOS' straight-baseline clause, which was designed to simplify maritime demarcation for complex coastlines - for example, western Norway, which is a maze of islands and fjords. Using straight baselines to "smooth" the legal shape of a rugged coastline, a nation with a fringe of islands or inlets can delineate rational maritime boundaries.

In keeping with this purpose, UNCLOS requires that straight baselines must follow the general direction of the coast, and any sea area on the landward side of the baseline must be closely linked to the nation's jurisdiction.

"It's very clear from the maps . . . that China's new baselines depart considerably from the general direction of the coast," Chatham House associate fellow Bill Hayton told Newsweek.

China's new baseline claim in the Gulf of Tonkin extends up to 50 nm from shore. The claim treats areas to the east of the line as internal waters, subject to unfettered sovereign control. (Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Google Earth)

The move could have the greatest effect on China's neighbor to the south, Vietnam. While the new baseline does not cross the Vietnamese-Chinese maritime demarcation line, which was negotiated and settled in 2000, some analysts warn that it could form a basis for future claims to Vietnam's waters. It would also allow China to exercise full administrative control over all navigation in the northeastern end of the gulf and the Hainan Strait, with potential effects on Vietnamese shipping interests.

"Vietnam believes that coastal countries need to abide by the UNCLOS when establishing the territorial baseline used to calculate the width of the territorial waters and to ensure that it does not affect the lawful rights and interests of other countries, including the freedom of navigation, and the freedom of passage through straits used for international maritime activities in accordance with UNCLOS," said Vietnamese foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang last week.

China's foreign ministry has been unapologetic. "It's China's legitimate and lawful right to determine the territorial sea baseline in [the Gulf of Tonkin]," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.

Vietnam and China have a long history of confrontation in the South China Sea, but relations have recently been warming. Vietnam signed a joint maritime patrol agreement with Beijing last year, and the first formal arrangements for joint Vietamese and Chinese coast guard operations were discussed just last month.

Vietnam's response to the new Chinese baseline has been muted so far, but Western analysts warn that the changes to the chart could cost Hanoi down the line.

"It gives reasons for China to question the agreement that Beijing and Hanoi signed off in 2000 and push the boundary closer to the Vietnamese coast," said Alexander Vuving of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, speaking to RFA.

The baseline declaration could also be an early test of a much larger enclosure. In 2022, the Chinese government announced that it has the right to encircle the waters of four Chinese-occupied island groups across the South China Sea with straight baselines, thereby expanding the extent of its internal waters hundreds of nautical miles offshore. The U.S. government disputes this "Four Sha" straight-baseline claim and has conducted freedom of navigation operations to challenge it.

UNCLOS' rules for baseline demarcation allow the coastal state to draw around low-tide reefs and shoals as though they were real islands, if they have been artificially built up to support a lighthouse. China's controversial campaign of expansion in the Spratly and Paracel archipelagos has turned multiple low-tide elevations into island military bases; many of these megaprojects started with a public emphasis on lighthouse construction.

ECOCIDE

Japan: 7 dead after South Korean-flagged tanker capsizes

Authorities are examining whether acrylic acid had leaked into the ocean after the chemicals tanker capsized in rough seas off the coast of Japan.

Officials said one member of the crew was alive, with the condition of another unknown

picture alliance/dpa/Kyodo News/AP

Japan's coastguard on Wednesday said seven members of the crew of a capsized South Korean tanker have been pronounced dead.

The tanker had 980 metric tons of acrylic acid on board, but the coastguard said there was no initial information about whether this had leaked into the ocean.
What we know so far

Officials said one member of the crew was alive, with the condition of another individual who was rescued unknown.

The vessel had 11 crew aboard, with nine members retrieved so far. Coastguard officials said the ship was carrying a South Korean captain, another South Korean national, a Chinese national and eight Indonesians.

The incident took place near Japan's Mutsure Island off the coast of Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan.

The tanker, Keoyoung Sun, had been anchored because of bad weather and requested assistance at about 7 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2200 GMT/UTC on Wednesday).

However, the ship was completely capsized by the time rescuers arrived at the scene.

Officials are examining what environmental protection measures may be necessary in the event of a leak.

Acrylic acid, which is used in making plastics, resins, and coatings, can be an irritant for the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

rc/fb (Reuters, AP)

Cyclone Drives Bulker Into Wharf, Suspending Manganese Mine's Operations

Australia manganese mine — Operations are suspended at the manganese mine after it was impacted by a cyclone (Anindilyakwa Land Council file photo)

One of the world’s leading manganese mines was damaged on Monday by a cyclone impacting the northern reaches of Australia with reports suggesting the damage to the wharf could require extensive repairs. Australia’s Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO), jointly owned by South32 and Anglo-American, confirmed that operations had been suspended at its facility while they were monitoring the storm and assessing structural damage to the wharf.

The Cyprus-registered bulker Anikitos (31,236 dwt) was driven into the wharf according to reports from the Australian Financial Review. The newspaper has been unable to confirm reports that the 623-foot (190-meter) bulker, which was loading ore, sustained hull damage holing one of its ballast tanks. The newspaper published pictures of the ship driven against the dock during the storm while reporting it had loaded 41,000 tonnes of metal but failed to depart before the storm hit. They are reporting that divers will be surveying the vessel’s hull.

Cyclone Megan, referred to by the Australian metrological service as a “severe tropical cyclone” hit the region on Monday, afternoon. The storm was reported to have top wind speeds of 105 mph with averages between 70 and 80 mph and was expected to drop 12 to 19 inches of rain.

While Groote Eylandt, an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria located nearly 400 miles east of Darwin, Australia, did not receive a direct impact from the storm, it experienced strong winds and heavy rain.

The island is the primary location for manganese mining and exports with the newspaper reporting 10 to 12 ships load more than 50,000 tonnes of manganese each month for export. The mine produced 5.9 million tonnes of the metal in 2023 with the largest portion of the exports going to China. The Anikitos shuttles between Australia and South Korea transporting the exports.

GEMCO is the only mining company operating on the island and was looking to expand its mining operations. Separately, mining company Glencore which also operates a zinc mining operation in the region evacuated workers ahead of the storm.

The storm was predicted to move inland and weaken overnight and into Tuesday.

US Congressional hearing: Donald Lu dubs Imran’s cipher allegation ‘conspiracy theory, complete falsehood’

Dawn.com

Published March 20, 2024

US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu on Wednesday termed the allegations against him — which formed the crux of the ‘cablegate’ cipher controversy — by former prime minister Imran Khan as a “conspiracy theory, lie and complete falsehood”.

Lu is the diplomat whose supposed warning to former Pakistan Ambassador to the US Asad Majeed was the subject of a cipher sent by the envoy to Islamabad. It was the same document that the PTI founder used to allege a US conspiracy to oust his government in 2022. Imran is currently on trial for mishandling the same confidential document.

Testifying today before a subcommittee of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, at a hearing titled ‘Pakistan After the Elections: Examining the Future of Democracy in Pakistan and the US-Pakistan Relationship’, Lu was questioned about the allegations and his assessment of them.

In response, Lu said: “I want to be very clear on this point. These allegations — this conspiracy theory — is a lie. It is a complete falsehood. I have reviewed the press reporting related to this, what is called the cipher in Pakistan, the alleged leaked diplomatic cable from the embassy here.

“It is not accurate. At no point does it accuse the US government or me personally of taking steps against Imran Khan. And thirdly, the other person in the meeting, the then-ambassador of Pakistan to the US, has testified to his own government that there was no conspiracy.”

During Lu’s response, he was heckled by a person attending the proceedings who called him a “liar” while chants of “Free Imran Khan” were also heard.

Lu said that the US respected Pakistan’s sovereignty and the principle of the Pakistani nation choosing its own leaders through a democratic principle. The conclusion of his response was met by a loud commotion of hecklers against his remarks, who dubbed him a “liar”.

More to follow.

UK delivers final blow to UAE’s hopes of acquiring Telegraph

TORY MP's PROTECT TORY TELEGRAPH

Reuters

Published March 20, 2024

LONDON: Britain said on Tuesday it would refer the UAE-led takeover of the Telegraph for a lengthy review, a move that will effectively kill the deal because a law banning foreign governments owning newspapers is due to come into force in coming months.

Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI took control of the Telegraph titles and the Spectator magazine in December when it helped repay the Barclay family’s 1.2 billion pound ($1.5 billion) debt to Lloyds Bank, but the deal needs regulatory approval.

British lawmakers and journalists have vehemently opposed the UAE’s takeover of the Telegraph, which is nicknamed the “Torygraph” for its long-standing support for the right-leaning Conservative, or Tory Party. They say the acquisition of one of Britain’s most famous newspapers by a foreign state, particularly the UAE, would threaten press freedom.

In response, the government said last week it would legislate to stop foreign states from owning newspapers.

Media Secretary Lucy Frazer, who was examining the takeover’s compliance with competition and media ownership rules, said on Tuesday she was minded to refer it to a lengthy inquiry on the grounds of accurate news presentation and free expression.

Media regulator Ofcom had found that Abu Dhabi’s IMI may have an incentive to influence “the accurate presentation of news and free expression of opinion in the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph newspapers”, she said.

The parties have until March 25 to make representations before she refers the deal to the Competition and Markets Authority.

The contest for ownership of the Telegraph Media Group is playing out against the backdrop of an unpopular Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, that is set to lose the next election expected later this year, according to polls.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024

A Guyanese case study on oil

Syed Rashid Husain

March 18, 2024

Guyana is the newest kid on the global energy bloc. The country’s growing oil assets, regarded by some as the find of the decade, are increasingly under the spotlight, giving rise to a new tug of war. As is always the case, attempts to grab the assets are on, both at the geopolitical and corporate levels.

Guyana’s offshore oil sector is booming, with over 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources discovered so far. Production is expected to reach roughly 620,000 barrels per day (bpd) once its Payara field reaches maximum capacity, and it could exceed 1.2 million bpd by 2028.

So far, 30 discoveries have been made, and many more are expected. With production anticipated to begin in Yellowtail in 2025 and Uaru in 2026, the country’s output could touch the 8m barrels equivalent per day, according to recent Standard & Poor’s Global estimates. However, the emerging resources are not without a curse.

Neighbouring Venezuela, boasting a large army with 337,000 personnel, is asserting ownership of the resource-rich Essequibo region of Guyana. Once supermajor Exxon made a swathe of high-quality oil discoveries in the waters off the Essequibo region, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s sabre-rattling intensified.

Energy-deficient Pakistan could learn from Guyana in successfully exploiting its energy assets via active global player participation

Venezuela is now claiming its rights to a 61,000 square mile area of Guyana, comprising roughly two-thirds of the sovereign territory. A heated debate between the two countries has begun. Caracas is accusing Georgetown of awarding Exxon illegal drilling licenses. It says Guyana has no right to award such licenses. Venezuela has also objected to Exxon’s drilling campaign, claiming the supermajor was engaging in corrupt conduct with key opposition figure, Maria Corina Machado, to move ahead on the project.

Matthew Smith reported in his piece in Oilprice.com, “Recent evidence suggests heightened military activity along Guyana’s border, raising fears of a potential invasion. By the end of 2023, there were fears Venezuela would use its military to annex the contested region.” To many, this is reminiscent of the invasion of Kuwait by the forces of Saddam Hussain in 1990.

Later, however, the presidents of Venezuela and Guyana agreed to resolve the dispute peacefully. Yet despite the agreement, “evidence of heightened Venezuelan military activity along Guyana’s border has [re]emerged, sparking fears Caracas is preparing to seize the [resource-rich] Essequibo by force.”

In the meantime, a corporate battle is also ongoing. Currently, Exxon controls all production in Guyana, holding a 45 per cent share in a consortium that includes the Hess Corporation and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) as minority partners. Last October, Chevron Corp agreed to acquire Hess Corp for $53bn.

Analysts point out that Chevron’s bid to purchase Hess in October was primarily aimed at securing its 30pc stake in the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana, currently one of the world’s fastest-growing oil developments and the biggest crude discovery in a decade.

Exxon is now claiming it has a right to first refusal of any sale of the Stabroek block off the coast of Guyana, containing at least 11bn barrels of oil. Late in February, ExxonMobil said it may pre-empt Chevron Corp’s acquisition of a 30pc stake in the giant Guyanese oil block. Many say the possible move by Exxon to pre-empt the Chevron-Hess deal could result in the breakup of Chevron’s $53bn deal to buy into the field.

Chevron stands adamant there’s “no possible scenario” where Exxon or CNOOC could buy the stake, adding that it remains fully committed to the Hess deal. Exxon and CNOOC’s right of first refusal is “not applicable” to its merger with Hess, Chevron said in an emailed statement sent to the media. “As described in the S-4, there is no possible scenario in which Exxon or CNOOC could acquire Hess’ interest in Guyana as a result of the Chevron-Hess transaction.”

However, Exxon is insisting that it has a duty to its shareholders to explore the right of first refusal over the change of ownership of the Hess stake.

In recent months, oil majors have struck a flurry of mega-deals to secure stakes in proven reserves without building new projects that would increase global supplies. Capitalising upon the sentiment, Guyana has been trying to attract more large oil producers to dilute Exxon’s dominance of the country’s energy output.

It recently held an offshore block auction that drew bids from TotalEnergies, Petronas and Qatar Energy. A battle royale between the oil giants is thus underway in Guyana.

The ongoing corporate dispute over Guyana’s Stabroek Block and the possibility of invasion of Guyana by Venezuela underscores “how important the emerging basin is to global crude markets”, Bloomberg underlined in a piece.

The evolving battleground of Guyana once again underlines oil and geopolitics are virtually inseparable.

For energy-deficient countries like Pakistan, Guyana presents a case study. The country has been successful in exploiting its energy assets through the active participation of global oil majors. Such projects require considerable investments and technological knowhow — oil majors’ posses both.

However, for oil majors to get involved in any such projects, political and economic stability in host countries remains a must. Consistency in policies is required and on a long-term basis.

Pakistan is not meeting these prerequisites. Despite having the potential, it has been unable to exploit and grow its domestic energy asset base in recent decades. To some, it has been a lost decade in many senses.

Oil majors and multinationals are slowly opting out of Pakistan. To achieve a semblance of success in the energy sector, we need to reverse this trend. Pakistan, and especially the Ministry of Petroleum, has a lot to relearn.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, March 18th, 2024Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

PAKISTAN

How long can govt hide behind ‘all is well on X’ mantra?

Work of content creators, fact-checkers suffering due to unannounced curbs on social media platforms.

Niha Dagia

DAWN

Published March 20, 2024

KARACHI: After being grilled by the courts over the unannounced curbs on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), government institutions seem to have adopted a fresh tactic: pretending as if nothing has happened.

“They’re taking us to be fools… The ban is not only unconstitutional and illegal, but it’s also shrouded in mystery,” says Abdul Moiz Jaferii, one of the petitioners challenging the disruption before the Sindh High Court, which is scheduled to be taken up by the court again today (Wednesday).

Recalling a recent hearing of his petition, Mr Jaferii related how an official from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) tried to mislead the court by opening X on his phone and pretending as if everything was working normally.

“This seems to be their new strategy: pretend nothing is happening. They manipulate courts into believing there was never a loss of freedoms, branding it as mass paranoia.”

But when the judge in question, SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, asked the petitioners whether the PTA claim was accurate, they informed the court that the official was doubtlessly using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access the website, which remained inaccessible to the public at large.

Work of content creators, fact-checkers suffering due to unannounced curbs on social media platforms

‘Gaslighting the public’

“The majority of Pakistan sees it as obfuscation and gaslighting by the government. And the majority of Pakistan has had enough,” Mr Jaferii notes.

It has now been over a month since X was restricted in various parts of Pakistan. This unofficial ban followed accusations by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha against the chief election commissioner and chief justice, alleging their involvement in rigging the February 8 general elections.

Even the newly elected government has distanced itself from any responsibility, with newly-minted Information Minister Atta Tarar acknowledging that the social media website was indeed blocked but without any official notification.

When approached for a comment, the PTA asked DawnNewsEnglish to direct questions regarding X to the interior ministry. When pressed further, they attributed the instructions to the government.

But digital rights activists do not buy this argument. “Only the PTA has the legal authority to block websites under Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act,” insisted digital rights activist Farieha Aziz. “Any suggestion otherwise is legally incorrect.”

“The law clearly requires any curtailment of access to online content to be bound between very limited lines,” explains Mr Jaferii. “It needs to be something that affects the integrity of the state, something that attacks Islam and its glory, something that can cause riots and unrest.”

Beyond that, he added, there isn’t “any legal situation where the regulator can affect such a ban.”

Existing laws, such as Section 37 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, also outline due process for censorship. “They [PTA] have to send a notice to a website,” says Usama Khilji, another lawyer and digital rights activist. “There has to be an option of appeal, there has to be an explanation, and there has to be a public notice, but none of that is being implemented.”

In the case of X, there has been no notification from PTA or formal communication from the government.

This is obviously taking a toll on those who use social media for professional purposes.

Creators, journalists ‘at receiving end’

A 2023 report by the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated that digital transformation could add a staggering $60 billion to Pakistan’s economy in the next seven to eight years.

“Social media apps are critical to many people’s employment and their jobs, especially content creators who depend on these platforms to produce and publish content,” says Sabah Bano Malik, a content creator.

She notes that when these apps are repeatedly taken down, it disrupts consistency for both the audience and the content creators. “It breaks the rhythm of posting and engagement, making it challenging for creators to maintain their audience’s interest and engagement,” she added.

“This inconsistency also affects content creators’ relationships with brands, impacting their ability to meet deadlines and deliver results.”

Another segment being affected is journalists. According to Amber Rahim Shamsi, who heads the IBA’s Centre for Excellence in Journalism and is one of the petitioners in the case before the Sindh High Court, the ban is actually interfering with the work of independent fact-checkers.

When you are fact-checking, one criteria to monitor is virality, says Ms Shamsi. Twitter being the most public domain — as opposed to Whatsapp, which is more of a private medium — it offers a good platform to track the spread of mis/disinformation across a social network, she says.

This can’t be done through VPN, she says, as they work erratically. Additionally, tracking mis/disinformation online involves comparing the spread of a particular piece of information across multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and, of course, X.

Therefore, the unannounced ban makes it harder to track and map the spread of misinformation, she says, essentially handicapping fact-checkers and allowing inaccurate information to proliferate in the absence of any independent checks and balances.

Nadir Guramani in Islamabad also contributed to this report; watch the full video on the DawnNews English YouTube channel

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024

PTI endorses Amnesty’s call for restoration of X

Ikram Junaidi

DAWN

Published March 19, 2024

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has fully endorsed Amnesty International’s demand for the immediate restoration of social media platform X, stating that Pakistan has become a laughing stock in the international community due to the unjustified blockage of social media and the chain of oppression against its own citizens.

A party spokesperson said that the government’s unjustified closure of the internet, especially social media websites on a daily basis, to conceal facts regarding the “mandate theft” in the general elections, has provided opportunities for the world to ridicule Pakistan.

According to the party’s media wing, he alleged that the Constitution was virtually suspended during the past 23 months and basic constitutional rights were openly being trampled upon.

“It is shameful that X has remained blocked in the country for over one month now. We fully endorse 28 civil society organisations’ demand for immediate removal of ban on the social media platform, allowing free flow of information as should be the case in a democratic country,” said the PTI spokesperson.

He went on to say that the murder of freedom of expression and the press had been the topmost priority of the “usurper and anti-constitutional” group.

He stated that all kinds of coercive and brutal tactics, ranging from enforced disappearances to blackmailing their families, had been used to target impartial journalists and social media workers.

He lamented that efforts were afoot to strangle the freedom of expression and the press to suppress critical, sane voices to establish control over the media.

The PTI spokesperson stated that the government of the “people-rejected” PDM-2 continued the series of violations of all fundamental and constitutional rights without any fear of accountability.

He made it clear that the closure of social networking websites by the authorities without any reason and justification was a violation of Article 19 of the Constitution and international laws. He said that PTI supported the statement of Amnesty International and demanded immediate restoration of social media platform ‘X’.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024

Pakistan interior minister urges new laws for online speech

Islamabad (AFP) – Pakistan's new interior minister said Tuesday the country needed better laws to regulate internet free speech, as disruption of social media platform X stretched into its fifth week.

Issued on: 19/03/2024

X has been rarely accessible in Pakistan since February 17

Islamabad has declined to clearly say whether it is behind nationwide restrictions to the platform, formerly known as Twitter, which have left it rarely accessible since February 17.

Pakistan's polls earlier that month were marred by allegations of rigging, and the outages began after a senior government official made a public admission of vote tampering.

"We need to make better laws," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said when asked whether his ministry was responsible for the X shutdown.

"Expression is fine, but making false allegations against people is wrong -- it's happening and needs to be fixed."

"We must reassess our own laws and look into what is being misused," he told reporters in remarks broadcast on state TV.

X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were key planks in the election campaigning of jailed ex-prime minister and popular opposition leader Imran Khan.

The former cricket star was barred from running and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was subject to a sweeping crackdown of arrests and censorship ahead of February 8 polls.

Most of their campaigning moved online, where it was shut down by numerous social media blackouts which Islamabad blamed on technical glitches.

Rigging claims were also fuelled by a nationwide mobile internet shutdown on polling day, which the caretaker government said was required for security reasons after twin bombings killed 28 a day earlier.

X remained unavailable to AFP reporters in Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore on Tuesday afternoon -- but the site has been momentarily accessible at times over the past five weeks.

"The problem is there is no transparency by the government," said Sadaf Khan, an analyst for Pakistani campaign group Media Matters for Democracy.

"Twitter is being banned specifically because it has emerged as a platform where political disclosure takes place," she told AFP.

Information minister Attaullah Tarar has given mixed signals over disruption, telling one local media outlet it "is working" and another that it was "already banned" when the new government came to power.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif -- who secured the office through a shaky coalition after Khan's candidates defied expectations to secure more seats than any other party -- has frequently published statements on X.

On Monday, he used the platform to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin for his re-election in a poll slammed by independent observers and the West as the most corrupt in post-Soviet history.

© 2024 AFP

Unruly social media

Arifa Noor

DAWN

March 19, 2024

“A free press can be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom a press will never be anything but bad” — Albert Camus

LAST Saturday, journalist Asad Toor finally got bail. It took nearly three weeks — three weeks in which his case went from court to court, all the way up to the Supreme Court in a manner of speaking. When he was first called in for questioning, his lawyers filed for pre-arrest bail but the judiciary didn’t think it necessary — he was arrested.

And then came the process which is called justice in Pakistan where the prosecution keeps simply asking for custody of the accused for ‘interrogation’, while his lawyers and family watch helplessly, waiting for the day the courts will be kind enough to send the former to jail (on judicial remand) so that bail becomes a possibility.

In Toor’s case, the FIA questioned him once before they called him back again for more questions, only to arrest him. The agency got five days to ‘interrogate’ him but then asked for more from the judge; and was given his custody for a few more days. After this, they still needed more time “to recover some things” from him, according to a story in Dawn. Fortunately, the judge had had enough and sent Toor to jail.

Meanwhile, his case was highlighted in the Supreme Court, when lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed mentioned the matter to the chief justice, who coincidentally was hearing a case about a physical attack on Toor some years ago. It so happens that the journalist whose attack we are discussing is behind bars, he told the CJ.

The judge had to ask for details and in the ensuing dialogue, the attorney general conceded that some of the charges against Toor in the FIR did not make sense. Those close to Toor were overjoyed; if the government’s representative was willing to comment publicly that the FIR seemed problematic, bail should not be a problem. As if logic ever had a role to play in Pakistan. The AG, having conceded, did no more; after all, if he began getting involved in the cases of all those wrongly incarcerated, who would pursue the more serious cases?

The mainstream press, from newspapers to channels, is no longer a challenge for the state.

For the rest, the runaround continues. A busy judge had so many cases to hear that it took him days to get around to hearing Toor’s case on Thursday. On that day, the investigating officer fell ill and was ‘hospitalised’; the hearing was put off till Monday. The presiding judge said he couldn’t hear the case before Monday — he was busy on Friday and didn’t work on Saturday, he told those who stood before him. The lawyers went back to the Islamabad High Court for the third time, where the IHC chief justice ordered the judge to make time. On Saturday the bail order was given; this time around, the FIA no longer had objections. By the evening, the journalist was home but still implicated in a case. The sword continues to dangle despite the AG’s concession about the FIR.

During the same period, Imran Riaz was also arrested in Lahore though his bail came through faster than Toor’s. This was a man who disappeared last summer for months and came back a shadow of his former self, leaving little doubt that he had been tortured during his incarceration. And yet, someone thought he should be picked up again. And that those around him should be grateful he was only arrested and not disappeared.

Both these cases happened as a new government was taking charge; the new information minister argued X, aka Twitter, was working when asked about the blocked social media app. Had anyone seen a notification blocking it, he asked. He is the information minister of a party which, along with other opposition members, had called on Toor when he came under attack last time. This time, few of those who had been keen on a photo-op with him during the PTI’s tenure, could spare the time to even raise a voice for him. After all, there was no Imran Khan in power and there was no political point-scoring to be done.

Both these arrests reveal the changing media landscape in Pakistan.

The mainstream press, from newspapers to channels, is no longer a challenge for the state. The Urdu-language news channels, with their greater reach, have been especially co-opted or subjugated to the point where their reporting and commentary has become palatable to the state. Of course, there are offending clips and remarks but these simply cause warnings to be issued, owners to be browbeaten and everyone to be kept on their toes.

Overall, though, there is little to object to in the stories that are being aired or broadcast. And why should there be when reporting has been reduced to simply producing which politician or leader said what; news bulletins are dominated by statements of prime ministers, the army chief, chief ministers, opposition leaders, followed by newsworthy stuff uttered by the likes of Faisal Vawda or Javed Latif? The rest of time is spent recounting events, such as which politician met whom and which government official held a meeting.

Perhaps this is why it has been a long time since a news channel was taken off air. There is no ‘need’; though it was a tactic much in demand from Musharraf onwards. Unruly journalists can simply be sacked, a trend which began before the 2018 election and continues to date. But this hasn’t proved enough to silence them, and some of the peskier ones take to social media.

And it is here that the conflict is now playing out, where the worst of the state coercion is now at display. Arshad Sharif’s death is a case in point. Or Imran Riaz’s abduction. Or the day-long abduction of Matiullah Jan and other incidents during the PTI tenure. Intimidation and violence will continue as will efforts to block or limit the use of social media platforms. But if history is any guide, the voices will not be silenced.

The writer is a journalist.
Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2024

PAKISTAN

‘To remain silent is to die’: Asad Toor’s arrest, Peca and free speech

The FIA is blatantly disregarding the law by pressuring Toor to surrender his journalistic protections.

Ahsan J. Pirzada

DAWN

March 11, 2024

“If I speak, they will kill me, to remain silent is to die”

Do we, as the people of Pakistan, connect with the vision defined by the framers of our Constitution? Does this vision reside within our reality, or is it merely an academic ideal — an impractical philosophy for leisurely Sunday contemplation?

It can be safely argued that the infamous Army Public School attack of December 16, 2014, laid the very foundation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (Peca). The severity and lethality of the attack, which left 149 people dead, amongst which 133 were children, had a massive impact on Pakistan’s anti-terror agenda.

An all-encompassing National Action Plan (NAP) was formulated, comprising 20 agenda items. Of these, agenda item number 11 (ban on glorification of terrorists and terrorist organisations through print and electronic media), and agenda item number 14 (measures against abuse of internet and social media for terrorism), may be characterised as catalysts behind the promulgation of Peca.

Given this historical background, evidently, the purpose of the said law was purely to prevent social media and digital space from being utilised by terrorist organisations and their symphyses, for promoting terrorism or other such activities falling within the definition of “terrorism”. At least, this was the narrative used by the state to silence the voice of those who preempted its misapplication and abuse, at the hands of the state.

Since its promulgation, Peca has claimed many victims, which include politicians, journalists, academics, activists, lawyers, political workers and members of the civil society. It did not spare anyone, not even those who professed their unvarying support and allegiance to it and defended its existence, without flinching.

On October 21, 2017, former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif — whose government had passed the law — took to X (formerly Twitter) protesting the arrest of social media activists and calling on the state to respect the fundamental right of free speech and expression. The very law which stifled freedom of expression, supported and introduced in the parliament by his own government, was being criticised by him; such is the irony.

Yet another victim

Yet again, Peca has claimed another victim. A renowned journalist and vlogger, popular for expressing his opinion in the most uninhibited and unorthodox form, Asad Ali Toor, is in the captivity of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

It appears that Toor’s crime was so vile and unforgiving that the court did not even hesitate in granting a five-day physical remand to the FIA, which was subsequently extended for three days on March 3, and further extended for another two days on March 6. What crime you ask? The heinous crime of exercising his fundamental right, as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, to freedom of speech and expression.

He had, through multiple vlogs, called into question the purported illegal transgressions of members belonging to government institutions, whose role is defined under the Constitution. He opined that the parameters envisaged in Article 245 of the Constitution should be vehemently observed and no actions or initiatives should be undertaken which would vitiate the mandate prescribed in the said Article.

Toor had also vehemently criticised the judgement passed by the Supreme Court, in which it had denied the PTI its election symbol, on the pretext that the judgment passed by courts was public property and could be subjected to criticism.

It is not that Toor was not participating in the inquiry, hence, warranting his arrest. Far from it, after being served with a notice, Toor appeared in person before the FIA’s Cyber Crime Wing, on Feb 23. He was interrogated for hours in connection to an inquiry relating to a “malicious” campaign against the judiciary.

On Feb 24, the journalist was served yet another notice, directing him to appear again on Feb 26, which Toor did. Some four hours later, his legal counsels were informed by an FIA official, carrying a letter in one hand and Toor’s car keys in another, that he had been formally arrested. The said letter was addressed to his legal counsel, Imaan Zainab Mazari, through which he requested that his 78-year-old mother be dropped at his relative’s house.

The next day, Toor was presented before the designated judicial magistrate, charged with the offence of Section 9 (glorification of an offence), 10 (cyber terrorism) and 24 (legal recognition of offences committed in relation to information system) of Peca. The first information report (FIR) dated Feb 26, which was presented in court along with an application for a 10-day physical remand, did not even remotely mention the inquiry proceedings or that Toor had been allegedly involved in any campaign against members of the superior judiciary.

The glaring omission to adequately and properly consider the presence of an alternative penalty to imprisonment, in the form of imposition of fine(s), as stipulated under sections 9, 10, 12 and 24 Peca, is basal to the court’s decision in granting a five-day physical remand, and its subsequent extensions, to the FIA.

Right to liberty

Toor’s current detainment, resulting in the blatant and unwarranted curtailment of his right to liberty, is not possibly compensable by the state. The right to liberty is cardinal and elementary to the principles of every democracy. It is for these reasons that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has repeatedly granted bail in similar cases, whereas, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) has previously held that in cases where sections 9, 10, 12 or 24 of Peca are invoked, bail shall be granted to the accused as a matter of right.

Even otherwise, courts have been considerate of the fact that the requisite mens rea (criminal intent) of the accused, alleged to have committed such offences, is rarely ever discernible.

Moreover, the language incorporated and employed in the concerned provisions has been criticised for being vague and ambiguous, thus rendering the offences laid out more cumbersome to prove. Only a proper trial and arguments can lead to effective and fair adjudication of such allegations, not physical remand or absolute abdication of the accused’s fundamental right to liberty — not for five days, not for 10.

It is not surprising why when an offence under these provisions is alleged and the accused are consequently detained, it appears to be a culmination of arbitrary and whimsical abuse of the law which has time and again been manifested by authorities at their earliest temptation, whenever their conduct has been subjected to castigation by the public.

Perhaps, the most disturbing aspect of the decisions rendered by the court was the fact that the aforementioned application, in unequivocal terms, disclosed the very purpose for which the remand was being sought. The FIA is adamant about accessing Toor’s electronic devices and social media handles, i.e. access to his journalistic sources.

Journalistic protections

At this point, it must be highlighted that the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Act, 2021 (Protection Act), inspired by Article 19 of the Constitution and international law, was enacted by the Parliament, underscoring the state’s responsibility to safeguard freedom of expression.

This includes the right to seek, receive and impart information of all kinds, regardless of borders and the right to privacy and non-disclosure of sources. This legislation recognises the democratic imperative to foster a safe and independent environment for journalists, especially in light of targeted attacks on media professionals.

Furthermore, Section 4 (right to privacy and non-disclosure of sources) of the law explicitly protects journalists’ right to privacy and the confidentiality of their sources. Yet, the FIA is blatantly disregarding the law by pressuring Toor to surrender these protections.

Ironically, while the federal government was required to constitute an independent commission under section 12 (establishment of a commission for the protection of journalists and media professions) of the Protection Act — which was to be known as the Commission for the Protection of Journalist and Media Professionals (CPJMP) — for the purposes of ensuring the enforcement of the Protection Act, no such commission has been constituted so far. This omission is reflective of authorities’ hesitation to play an active role in enforcing journalistic protection.

The state compelling journalists like Toor to reveal their sources is not only an abuse of law and power in the domestic realm but also a grave violation of Pakistan’s international obligations towards journalists. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which has been ratified by Pakistan, confers the right to freedom of expression to citizens of member states which includes “freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice”.

However, it is imperative to appreciate that journalistic protection is not absolute in nature. Article 19 (3) permits states to restrict this protection for the respect of the rights and reputation of others or for safeguarding national security, public order, public health or morals. Therefore, while international law recognises the importance of journalistic protection, it also hinders journalists from abusing this right by introducing a balance of proportionality.

Nonetheless, the UNHRC, in the Initial Report of Kuwait in 1999, disagreed with Kuwait’s assertion that freedom of speech and expression does not safeguard statements made against the head of the state, or the heads of other states. Rather, the committee concluded that compelling journalists to reveal their sources in order to evidence good faith behind a report is not only a violation of Article 19 of the ICCPR but also other provisions vis-à-vis respect to the presumption of innocence.

The committee, therefore, has crystallised that an invocation of the aforementioned grounds laid out in the law, in order to restrict journalistic protection, is not a trivial endeavour and is dealt with stringently.

Moreover, this was also endorsed by the Committee in Bodrožić v. Serbia and Montenegro where it stated that if the subject of a journalist’s report is a “prominent public and political figure” then a restriction on journalistic protection, on grounds of the reputation of officials, will be cumbersome to impose. In the bargain, Principle 30 of the Siracusa Principles has prohibited the invocation of national security as a ground for imposing limitations on Article 19 when “merely local or relatively isolated threats to law and order” are at play.

Stepping out of constitutional limits

Drawing from the aforementioned provisions, the UNHRC’s comments and international case law, it is evident that Toor expressing his opinion against powerful institutions and government officials does not mandate a restriction on his journalistic protection, in light of their public nature, and criticising them for stepping out of their constitutional limits does not compromise national security.

The same has also been endorsed by the European Court of Human Rights’ judgement, in Tillack v. Belgium, where it safeguarded a journalist’s journalistic protection when the police confiscated files and newsgathering materials possessed by the journalist with the aim of ascertaining their source for reporting on the activities of European Union officials.

The uninhibited treatment accorded to Toor is not mandated by law, but rather a product of personal offence taken on by those whom the journalist has bravely called out by exercising his rights.

Abusers of the aforementioned domestic and international law have been targeting journalists to silence the public; therefore, this contentious issue is not merely about journalists like Toor but about the Pakistani public at large.

The former chief justice of the IHC, Justice Athar Minallah, rightfully observed that “if liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear” which begs the question: Are Pakistanis actually free?

This piece is dedicated to all those brave journalists who are committed to their values and, unfortunately, face the real threat of persecution. It seems that Zahoor Hussain Zahoor is expressing what journalists might be feeling in the prevailing circumstances, particularly Asad Toor at this very moment.

He says: “On whose door shall I knock, carrying the corpse of thought, If I speak, they will kill me, to remain silent is to die. Silently swallowing my tears, I endured the ridicule of the world searching for my destination, I walk into the dark night, all alone Striving, I may not reach the end, but it will be closer, If I speak they will kill me, to remain silent is to die.”

سوچاں دی میت چا کے ، ہُن میں کیڑے گھر جاواں گا جے بولاں تے مار دِین گے ، نہ بولاں تے مر جاواں گا چپ چپیتے اتھرو پیتے ، مینے جگ دے پا کے پلے رات ہناری کلؔم کلے ، ٹُر یا جانڑاں منزل ولّے پاویں سارا پینڈا نہ سہی ، کُج نہ کٗج تے کر جاواں گا جے بولاں تے مار دیِن گے ، نہ بولاں تے مر جاواں گا ~ ظہور حسن ظہور