21 May 2012

Twitter row reveals the trouble with Pakistan

.... And that is roughly how things work here. When the threat – or the fear of a threat – comes from religious extremists, then commonsense and leadership routinely go out of the window. Something has to be done and done fast, no matter if the result is a botched infringement of basic freedoms.

The charitable way to view things is to accept that Pakistan is still in the midst of a democratic transition. After a decade of military dictatorship, its civilian rulers are still working out how power work. There will be clashes with the media and the judiciary as everyone works out the limits of their power. Things might be messy, but ultimately Twitter was restored and the right outcome was achieved. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more