Hate Speech is defined as any form of speech which can be used to attack a certain person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnicity etc. Hate speech is commonly now seen in the worldwide web where individuals use the platform of social media to post extremist and wrong content online. As a medium of spreading more violence around the country, it is considered unlawful in most countries and isn’t even considered a term in other states. Understanding the importance of preventing hate speech from taking place, the Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal launched an application which can be used to report hate speech called ‘Chaukas’.
Chaukas is a smartphone application which allows for the public to report hate speech and miscellaneous extremist content both online and offline. The application was developed by the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and is available for both Android and iOS.
The application allows for individuals to report these incidents or cases anonymously. They can either be cases that they find online or even incidences where they’ve seen in their own neighborhoods. The report that they generate will be sent to the Police, FIA and other regulatory authorities in Pakistan as well.
Ahsan Iqbal was also present at the inauguration of the new NACTA headquarters in Islamabad. He noted to have said that this application will be aimed to prevent terrorism and harassment as it directly involves the interaction of the citizens of Pakistan. He went on to highlight that the authorities need to be vigilant in this case and they need to take timely action in order for this application to be successful.
Addressing the meeting, the Interior Minister stated police and counter terrorism departments should start youth internship programs as several members of the nation’s youthful population want to work in federal institutions. He concluded by emphasizing the need to establish a terrorism screening system and how mutual collaboration are important in order to link international security institutions with these programs. This can be used as a way to boost the Safe City project which was stressed by the Interior Minister which utilizes technology to make policing more efficient for the staff in matters like Number Plate Recognition, Vehicle Management System Cameras and Intelligence Video Surveillance.
