RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:
Hello.
KYLA PASHA: Hi.
MONTAGNE: So how are people getting the news? I'm - sounds like I'm saying it is through blogs and e-mails, that sort of thing.
PASHA: Blogs and e-mails are one part of it, but there's also a couple of Web sites that are streaming the news that is blacked out, which is to say the blacked out news goes outside of Pakistan. They capture it - in some way, YouTube - and then out it on their Web site. And so we are getting news, but not directly from television.
MONTAGNE: Does all of this alert people to such things as demonstrations or other actions in the middle of the state of emergency?
PASHA: Most of the demonstration alerts are actually going out to SMS on phone. That's also a bit safer, but more to the point, it's much more immediate than having to stop at your computer.
MONTAGNE: Has there been any attempt by the government to crack down on the Internet or the - these sort of text messages, phone communication?
PASHA: Not, so far. Thank God. The Internet seems to be fairly free, though I am predicting that if this emergency continues on in the way it is that soon they will turn off the Internet. So it's a bit unclear how the government is feeling about the freedom of information these days. It's not keen on it, but it doesn't want to clamp down completely.
MONTAGNE: Just, finally, what is the most, I guess I should say, interesting thing that's occurred in terms of communication?
PASHA: The Internet is being used by students, and students have not been politicized since the '70s. That's sort of the amazing part. There's this thing called the Emergency Times, which is a pamphlet and a blog. And that's how they're getting information about student protests and everything. It's - that's probably the most remarkable thing - that the Internet is so key.
MONTAGNE: Kyla Pasha is a university lecturer and blogger in Lahore. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
