For the first time in history, Karachi Literature Festival was held outside Pakistan. Media reports that the event attracted thousands and presented Pakistan’s literary talent and diversity before an international audience note the positive aspects of the event, but these positives are only a mask over an uncomfortable reality. This reality was expressed by Ameena Saiyid OBE, co-founder of KLF and Managing Director of Oxford University Press Pakistan:

“It is not possible to bring the world to Pakistan to savour our literature and cultural creativity but it is possible to take it to the world.”

It is not possible to bring the world to Pakistan. Why? Partly it is because of the desperate security situation, which was observed by visitors during the 2015 KLF.

“It’s not an obvious location for a thriving literary festival, a fact emphasised when I’m met off my flight by a gun-toting guard in an armoured car. It’s barely six months since the Taliban briefly seized control of the airport, and my hosts are understandably wary about my safety en route to the festival. The guard radios in our location all the way along the car-clogged airport road. My initial view of Karachi is through green-tinted, bulletproof glass.”

There is more to the problem, though, which is that we are living in a time when it is not just bullets and bombs, but ideas are also considered national security threats. Hamna Zubair noted something missing from this year’s KLF:

Much of what emerged as being politically and culturally relevant to Pakistan in 2016 was absent from this year’s panel discussions. I was surprised that no session was organised to examine the increasing importance of online activism — its role in creating counter-narratives, its idiom and letter.

A few months later, it is no surprise. Bloggers have gone missing, only to reappear and flee the country fearing for their lives. Accused of blasphemy, there are now stories of torture and abuse of bloggers by state agencies. Now it is not only a few bloggers, but hundreds of social media users that are being investigated and facing arrest on charges of hurting the Army’s feelings.

What kind of literary festival can exist in a country where critical thinking and new ideas are answered with arrests and torture? The sad reality is we cannot bring the world to Pakistan for a free and open exchange of ideas because a free and open exchange of ideas is not possible in this country. Holding literary festivals abroad only showcases just how desperate the situation is at home.

PTI is as famous for its army of social media trolls as it is for its playboy leader. Farhan Virk is virtually synonymous with Twitter bots, and the massive difference of support for the party by online accounts and actual voters has earned the party the moniker ‘Tehreek-e-Internet’. But as much of a nuisance as PTI trolls can be, like other nuisances, we have all adapted and learned to carry on regardless. Now, though, the party that has long been believed to be a baby of the ISI finds itself being nuisanced by no less than the state itself.

PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary has warned that the government is trying to ‘silence’ PTI by raiding their workers offices and arresting members of the PTI social media team. These raids and arrests are condemnable, however, it is not a politically motivated attack to protect the feelings of the Sharifs. What began as a crackdown on alleged online blasphemy against almighty Allah has turned into a crackdown on alleged online blasphemy almighty Army.

Ch Nisar has said that ‘the whole nation is united on national security issues’. It is a laughable claim knowing what we do thanks to Dawn Leaks, but it is also a laughable claim for anyone with internet access. Social media, where anonymity protects the dictator and the dissident alike, is the last place where there is a healthy debate about all manner of national issues including CPEC, extremism, and international relations. If political criticism is permissible, even encouraged, by certain quarters, however there is no room given for criticism of Army and intelligence agencies as has been proven by these latest crackdowns.

If dominating the narrative on social media molded the narrative offline, Imran Khan would have been PM long ago. Army’s reactions on the social media front is a mistake because it shows a weakness in the national security strategy. If agencies arrest, kidnap and torture well meaning critics, it gives an obvious strategy to our real enemies who can create dozens of fake accounts to promote truly anti-Army messages to create confusion and chaos. What will we do then? Will we block all social media? What about blogs? Will we only allow access to approved blogs? What about foreign news websites like New York Times and Guardian that have been accused of promoting anti-Army narratives? What about Pakistani news sites like Dawn and Geo that are also accused? Will we only allow access to Bol and Neo? How long until the internet in Pakistan looks like the internet in North Korea?

The crackdown on dissent on social media is an impossible task. Taken to its logical conclusion, the state’s present strategy means disconnecting completely, which is choosing isolation and only confirming the worst accusations that the powers that be want to disprove. The only way to counter negative propaganda online is to disprove it through positive actions off-line. That means taking the fight to the real national security threat, not critics on social media.