Faisal Mubarak
We are living in an age where there is a silent but intense struggle going on in the heavens. On one side, there is the glow of development, on the other side, the shadows of slavery are getting deeper. Elon Musk’s “Starlink Network”, the world’s leading entrepreneur and the founder of “Tesla”, claims incredible convenience on the one hand, but on the other hand, it raises many disturbing questions.
It’s a fact that Starlink’s offering is so heartwarming, because in areas of the world where superfast internet was once just a dream, this technology is shaping up to be a revolution. Just imagine, students of Gilgit-Baltistan taking live online classes in universities of international standards.
Doctors in Chitral are consulting with specialists abroad on video calls regarding complex diseases. Women in Tharparkar are selling their handicrafts on e-commerce platforms through mobile phones and farmers in Balochistan are planning their crops based on international meteorological data.
It is a talismanic and proud transformation. Now the door is opening to a world where knowledge and information are not reserved for anyone, while the Internet is like an ocean in which everyone can find their favorite gem. Today, the mobile phone in our hands can give us access to the best education in the world, we can even do a PhD with its help.
But at the same time, we should not forget that nothing is free in this world and if any facility is being given to us for free, then understand that we are the “prod kit” ourselves. For example, the same Starlink network, which currently provides us with high-speed Internet, online entertainment opportunities and access to information, if used for subversive activities, the world will reach the brink of destruction and the Russia, Ukraine war is a living proof of this, where Starlink became not only an Internet facility, but also a means of military communication, controlling drones and tracking the location of soldiers. That is, this network is not only a convenience, but also an effective tool for gaining power and influence.
Elon Musk’s admission that he knew which terminals were active in Iran, on the other hand, clearly indicates the extent of the system and its ability to provide informed surveillance. And if a country’s basic communications infrastructure is under the control of a foreign private entity, it’s fair to ask the question, “Is that country really independent?”
This is why Russia and China have completely banned Starlink in their country, as they are unwilling to compromise their digital sovereignty. Therefore, countries like Pakistan must seriously think that somewhere in the race of development, we are not putting our freedom, independence and national security at stake?
To be clear, this is not just a matter of technology, but a test of freedom, sovereignty and power. In the coming era, the Internet will not only be a medium for data transmission, but it will also decide the fate of nations. According to Iqbal, the accident is that which is still in the veil of the sky… its reflection is in the mirror of my perception.
We must ask ourselves today, are we going to trade our freedom for high-speed connectivity? We have to decide today, because the power of tomorrow will be with those who control the information today.
Unpublished works and their authors for the page “Miscellaneous”.
* External splendor, Lake Saif-ul-Muluk, Sajikot Abshar (Mubashara Khalid) * Problems created by yourself (Afroz Inayat) * The way of a productive life (name not written) * Logos, think something (Sameena Iqbal) * Ancestor of Mustafa, Hazrat Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, role in the solution of Kashmir, World Environment Day (Arsalanullah Khan, Hyderabad) * Companions of the Prophet and wealth and wealth (Ikram) Haq Chaudhry) * Bankers Night, Voters Turnout (Khawaja Tejmal Hussain, Karachi) * Chopal, Sithak (Abdul Sattar) * Third Battle of Panipat (Hamid Ansari) * Write Up (Mushal Fatima) * Bicycles (Muhammad Adil Naik Advocate) * Say to Winter, We Are Old (Amjad Mahmood Chishti) * Department of Education, Laboratory (Professor Maddali Jhatial) * Habib Jalib (Hayat Al-Husseini) – Ghazwa-e-Ahad, Ne Haat Bagh Par Hai (Bint-e-Siddiq Kandhalvi) – Another name for sacrifice, woman (Tobiah Saeed, Lahore) – Role of Pakistan Army in sports, role in education, increase in defense budget (Abdul Basit Alvi) – Discontent of the beloved (Muhammad Abbas) In the era of Mu’azz (Shiraz Alam Marri) – Media (Andlib Zahra, Rawalpindi) * I Am Karachi (Rabia Muhammad Usman) * First Woman Bureaucrat of Azad Kashmir (Zafar Mughal) * Quaid-e-Azam and Palestine (Reeta Farhat) * Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Mukhtar Zafar, Multan) Ada Jafri (Shajaat Hameed Badayuni) * Specialness of Believers, Supplications to Allah (Masbah Tayyab, Sargodha) * Palestine Is Burning (Nazli Faisal, Defense, Lahore) * Winter, Hun Aram A (Jamil Adeeb Syed, Karachi) * Duties of a Muslim Ruler, Makkah Tower, Manifesto of Humanity, Baba Gurunanak, Bab al-Islam Day, Manwara Lighthouse, Crusades, Story of Karbala, Dual Role (Babar Salim Khan, Salamatpura, Lahore) * EOBI (Muhammad Shabir Khan, Lahore) * Imaduddin Zangi (Altaf Hussain Siddiqui) * Ashraf Abbas (Zulfiqar Hussain Naqvi) * Social Media, Kharar Kushi Ka Akhara, The Last Smile Drowning in Waves (Abdul Samad Haqqyar) * Hazrat Maulana Qari Ahmed Pili Bhiti (Khatri Ismat Ali Patel) * Society and Backward Classes (Bashri Aman Work) * Iran, Israel Tension (Nusrat Abbas Daso) * Loneliness, Oneness (M. Shamim Naveed, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi) * Hardal Aziz, Tariq Ashraf, Rawala Kot, Kashmir).