Hi Aphrodite! Thank you for reading and sharing your views with me. I must admit I wasn’t following the news this closely during the first two leaks so you’ve presented me with good context. Today I follow Snowden’s discussion and I feel that maybe his presence or his leadership (if one decides to call it that) of the whistle-blowing campaign ensured that his mission remained clear.

The reason I would continue to want this data to be made available to, if not all then as many people as possible, in as many bits as possible, is because I fear possible distortion + manipulation before information reaches us in far corners. When the data is in the hands of a 100 people instead of 1, for example, the chances of it being well spread and discussed increase. Irregularities and lies can be spotted. Already the discussion in Pakistan is lukewarm. A whole bunch of people don’t even know this has happened. It will take our local leaders just a minute to distort the story and present weak evidence to clear their names. Local media will probably not be able to stop it without due evidence and pressure. I hope the people who have the data at least find a way to release direct small bits soon.

About your last point: the dangers of discussing a controversial topic are present for many of us in countries where human rights don’t hold much importance, and I wouldn’t want anyone to get in trouble, but I also wouldn’t want people to tolerate a corrupt, looting leader. Some of us must raise our voices if we can because a lot is at stake. Our prime minister is apparently a billionaire. So are all his family members. No one knows exactly how this is possible since he hasn’t declared even the car he uses as his own purchased asset. All this in a country where as of today “nearly 58pc of all Pakistani households — one out of every two — are food insecure”. This has to stop!