Social Interactions In The Internet Age

Safety Measures Versus Extortion

Security policies in Pakistan are tough. There is always some new blockbuster legislation just around the corner that serves to confuse some & allow others the chance to pick a few pockets before the legislation fizzles out (usually because it wasn't properly-researched in the first place). Nowhere is this more obvious than in the ICT sector. Everyone understands that things are always clunky in the beginning, but cell services & the Web have been available freely in this country since at least fifteen years - so how long does it take to get past the beginning? Even busy financial professionals like me have to stop & clear up some confusion or misconception every now & then. Case in point, let me tell you what I've had to put up with during the last few weeks alone:

The DSL Debacle

First, my uncle's DSL connection went belly-up for the hundredth time &, unlike previous instances, hasn't been repaired until the publication of this post. I found it very trying because most of my business is dependent on having an Internet connection. After some suspense, I threw in the towel & got myself an Evo 3G Wingle stick - which proved a whole new problem because when my father couriered it to me via TCS, it got delayed because somebody kept shooing the courier away from the gate of our Peshawar address by saying that the only person who lives here is my uncle & so the package should simply be returned! But anyhow, that is a story for another time.

The Cellphone Crisis

Next - on the same day I finally got my Evo stick - somebody got my cellphone service from Ufone blocked! We bought the SIM over a decade ago & it is my official contact number for all my family members & business connections. But back then, SIM policies in Pakistan were the same as the rest of the world & SIMs didn't necessarily have to be registered to the user. Most folks reasoned that if SIMs can be cloned, good old-fashioned police work would still be needed to track a criminal, so why bother millions of innocent subscribers? But I guess Heraclitus was right: Only change is constant.

Now, when the registration circus came to town, I was extremely busy with another assignment & figured I'd attend to my SIM registration when I had time. My father however, got a spurt of enthusiasm & without consulting me first, told my uncle to get it registered on his name (his reasoning was that he is in Rawalpindi with my brother & my uncle is posted in Peshawar these days) in order to get it functional quickly. I grumbled a little but family tradition is family tradition & so I decided to be accommodating. Anyway, I found out about the blockage the next day when I tried to text my father. I called the helpline & was informed that my uncle had got it blocked the previous day because he suspected that it had been "stolen or misplaced"! I told the tech that he was my uncle & how could he even know whether it was stolen/misplaced or not since he had never used it! But rules are rules. So, I had to tell my father to drop everything & go tearing away to the head office in Islamabad! The official explanation provided there was the same. My father called my uncle who denied having done any such thing but when my father said that in that case, he was going to file a formal complaint for harassment & fraud, my uncle pleaded with him not to do that just yet...& my SIM was functional shortly after.

The Attention-Starved Stalker

After that, I hoped (against hope) that I wouldn't have to deal with another cellphone crisis, especially since some jerk in the neighborhood has probably gotten his hands on a jammer & occasionally interferes with my Evo signal. What other explanation could there be that my Evo signal gets blocked, I lodge a complaint with PTCL, it gets okay for a few minutes & then the cycle begins again?

However my wish to be allowed to work in peace was not to be. Some lunatic has started calling me on my cellphone nearly every day since the last week or so. Considering that he or she never texts to explain what they want, I suspect it might be a stalker. Ordinarily, I would have told my father or my uncle in Karachi to call whoever it is back & ask them what is the problem. But nowadays, security policies dictate that anyone found calling "questionable" numbers will instantly be considered a "terrorism suspect"; & despite the "SIM Registration Drive", there is no directory from which to find out anybody's cell number like there has always been for landlines. Consequently, in a last-ditch effort, I am posting the stalker's cellphone number online with the request to please stop bothering me & find a healthier way of getting attention.

0301-6276881