Pakistan

Pakistan versus the Internet: YouTube blocked

Reuters/express May 20, 2010

KARACHI: Pakistan has blocked the popular video sharing website YouTube in a bid to contain blasphemous material, officials said on Thursday.

There are reports that another popular photo sharing website, Flickr.com has been blocked. Internet users across the country have also reported being unable to access the English section of popular internet encyclopedia website, Wikipedia.

This comes in the backdrop of a PTA ban on the popular social networking website Facebook after a controversy surrounding the website hosting an event promoting caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

PTA blocked access to Facebook on a court order over a competition created by a Facebook user who set up a page called "Draw Mohammed Day," inviting people to send in caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on May 20. Protests have been taking place across the country against Facebook’s failure to remove the offensive page off the social network.

Pakistani bloggers on the micro-blogging website Twitter are in an uproar on what they claim to be a ban on Wikipedia, the popular internet encyclopedia website, and video hosting website YouTube.

Wahaj-us-Siraj, the CEO of Nayatel, an Internet service provider, said PTA issued an order late on Wednesday seeking an "immediate" blockade of YouTube.

"It was a serious instruction as they wanted us to do it quickly and let them know after that," he told Reuters.

YouTube was also blocked in the country in 2007 for about a year for what it called un-Islamic videos.

A PTA official, who declined to be identified, said the action was taken after the authority determined that some caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad were transferred from Facebook to YouTube.

Siraj said the blocking of the two websites would cut up to 25 per cent of total Internet traffic in Pakistan.

"It'll have an impact on the overall Internet traffic as they eat up 20 to 25 per cent of the country's total 65 giga-bytes traffic," he said.

Publications of similar cartoons in Danish newspapers in 2005 sparked deadly protests in Muslim countries. Around 50 people were killed during violent protests in Muslim countries in 2006 over the cartoons, five of them in Pakistan.

COMMENTS (41)

WA | 14 years ago | Reply People i just checked Google has images of the Prophet (PBUH)....so what now... LHC will ban Google as well...?

Naveed Babar | 14 years ago | Reply Well dont no wat to said here , but it a fact that govt was looking for some thing like Facebook provide them and the took action on it with hours , while on the other side SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN's ordered lots of things but GOVT did nt move for inch ..lolxx I LOVE (PBUH) but as our friend wrote above that we dont offer nimaz which is the most basic part of our islamic life, and shouting that FB did wrong you-tube is wrong and etc etc ,,

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IdrewMohammadToo | 14 years ago | Reply Sadly in the fight against oppression there are casualties. This event was rough around the edges so to speak, but the intent behind it was sincere. Always stand up to the bullies on the playground. They need to be ‘taught’ how to behave by the rest of us. Sometimes you have to respond in a manner that the other side can take notice of regardless of how banal and crude other people think it may have been. They took notice that people were standing up to their tyrannical antisocial expectations put upon the rest of us by them. The first page received up to 100,000 supporters prior to being removed, the 2nd page was up to 14,500 supporters before it was also removed. The ‘protest’ was a huge success, no one had acid splashed into their faces, no one had their hands cut off with swords, and no one was bombed by a homicide bomber. We [atheists, Pagans, Xians, Hindus, & Buddhists] all exercised our right to freedom of expression in the face of “Hate Speech Mongers” who masquerade as a “Religion of Peace”. It was done. That is what was important.

umer hassan | 14 years ago | Reply very sad. trhere is no need to block youtube

Rida Tanveer | 14 years ago | Reply @shifa..i agree with master too!!!

r | 14 years ago | Reply gr8 work pta ...really happy facebooks blocked ut i dont want utube or wiki to b blocked

Ahmad Babar | 14 years ago | Reply Salam, Dear all, How many websites are we going to block before we realize that we actually have to do something instead of sitting back and just blocking these websites? When will be realize that we have to use these very platforms to spread good things about Islam and our Beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW)? Where is this Islamic Lawyer's group when leaked pictures of Pakistani girls are posted on porn websites? Why doesn't PTA block pornographic material? When will we stop blindly jumping on the bandwagon and for once actually do something in Honor of our Prophet (SAW)? Regards, Ahmad B.

Shifa | 14 years ago | Reply @The Master .. I totally agree on that! (Y)

Rida Tanveer | 14 years ago | Reply wow,,, I am amazed at people who cannot stay away from Facebook even for a few days..People saying that it was a wrong decision to block these websites,they should be ashamed, nobody is asking to shut down the entire internet , but this was a good decision. Out of all the Muslim countries, only Pakistani government had the guts to ban these websites. Wikipedia had PBUH sketches, so it is good that they banned it too. I guess losers like you need Facebook for so called social networking. yes it is true that we Muslims need to have self control. We should be the ones not visiting these websites and nobody should force us to boycott these websites. But why do you think we had Caliphs in earlier times??Why has god said that if a person steals his hands should be cut??Does he not have self control. So people it is the duty of the government to see if the nation is doing wrong. And for the first time this government is taking decisions it should have taken long before...

The Master | 14 years ago | Reply We will not die after blocking of these sites, and for my all computer just join me or gather wherever you are and just make our search engine a and social website.Why don't we make these type sites for ourselves, do we have to always follow the west for information.Please think and come forward to make use of your own brain and make good sites.I know we have great talent and it is just suppressed as we are just the followers , change habit and try make own efforts so that people join our websites where we can protect everybody's religion as per teaching of our Islam.

Irfan Afghan | 14 years ago | Reply Wikipedia is working ...

Shifa | 14 years ago | Reply According to me LHC has taken right decision when it comes to our Glorious Prophet (peace be upon him) we have to take strong action.after all we all know the fact that facebook was a waste of time!

Azeem | 14 years ago | Reply how do we reply. its banned. there was an anti draw Muhammad (SAW) page. lot of those members are now banned. some people planned to delete their accounts in protest. they cant because they cannot connect to the site. Allah will deal with those who ridicule our Prophet (SAW). Inshallah we will prevail but this is not the way to fight.

PERVAIZ | 14 years ago | Reply Do not panic , we will not die if we not use facebook or u tube etc. for few days . This time need some action may be this is not a right action but what about that cartoon . I think we all must back this action and force the other Muslim country to do the same and force the web site to remove that dirty material . al hamadallha once again Pakistani is pioneer .

Bumzi | 14 years ago | Reply Just imagine if they insulted our parents, what wud our reaction be? If we are Muslims, we r supposed to love our Prophet more than our parents. Support to ban facebook is the least we can do.

Karim Khan | 14 years ago | Reply How about banning all TV channels (women in tight jeans and dancing are unIslamic) and adio (songs are sins), and newspapers (models posing boldly before men in ads). LHC shuold also ban female lawyers from practicing in courts. :)

irfan | 14 years ago | Reply Non-Muslims should not do cheap action .Every country has a right to block such sites.

ishaq | 14 years ago | Reply our corrupt judiciary is just trying to be more political and they are touching those issues through which they can be popular in media. they have nothing to do with giving justice to poor people who are waiting for justice for many years.

Z ali | 14 years ago | Reply Good decision on time to block the sites but in mean time we have to prepare our selfs to reply them on same site the real picture of ISLAM and spread the message of our Holy prophet using same plate form . we can win them by using the teaching of holy prophet.

Miks | 14 years ago | Reply I'm filling out my immigration papers as I read this article...

Jahnzeb | 14 years ago | Reply GMAIL is NOT blocked and neither is Google. Wikipedia (English version) is blocked. You can't do anything but visit the opening page of Wikipedia. Youtube, Flickr also blocked by PTCL and TW-1

R | 14 years ago | Reply hypocrites R us. defending religion on "FB" while we ignore the real issues of our country. a family struggles to survive in todays economy, and here we are trying to save GiGaByTeS. We will steal money, spread corruption, yet portray to be the innocent of the lot. what will this banning gain? NOTHING! infact, all it will gain is the attention of the wrong doers to do it again n again and again! Sometimes, ignorance is a bliss. On the day when we're judged HE will know that OUR conscience was clear and we did not take part in this "blasphemy" but certainly let our concerns/voices be heard. WAKE UP!

Azeem | 14 years ago | Reply Hassan.......are u high on something?

NOOR | 14 years ago | Reply Google, Yahoo also not responding now in certain parts of the country..

Bilal Qureshi | 14 years ago | Reply I am amazed at the Pakistani public’s reaction to this travesty more than anything else. It seems that we live in a society where you can ban anything in the name of Islam and people will come out in hordes in support and solidarity. It reminds me of an incident in Saudi Arabia when Shah Abdul Aziz wanted to install the kingdom’s first Radio Station and the muftis of the era deemed it the devil’s box decreeing that the wooden box was occupied by Satan who would speak in human voices. To resolve the issue Shah Abdul Aziz got the imam of the mosque in medina to recite verses of the Quran in the microphone and transmit it to Makah for the rest of the clergy to listen to. He then posed a question to the holy men that if Satan was in the box then why would he be reciting the Holy Quran and so beautifully at that. This is where our country seems to be at the moment where we are only too happy to shoot the messenger. I would plead with all these people to search the number of Islamic videos on youtube and consider joining all the Muhammad fan clubs on facebook and then decide if it is productive to ban the entire internet based on 5 people’s hurtful comments. Also it is a slippery slope that the high court is advocating and I suspect the government will seize this initiative in the name of Islam to ban anything it deems offensive to itself. The people of this country need to be sensible and mature in order to defend our hard earned right to freedom of speech. If we let the government ban Wikipedia, Youtube and facebook soon we will be back to the 80’s era of PTV and government controlled media. All in the name of Islam.

Adnan | 14 years ago | Reply Welldone good work done by govt. of Pakistan on right time. Shabash PTA

Tayyab Raza | 14 years ago | Reply Okay !! i was trying to understand the decision of LHC to ban facebook and hardly convinced myself that it was right.. but Lo!!!! youtube and wikipedia ???? for Goodness sake, these are informative websites, not a wastage of time at all.. and what's next on the list of surprises ??? YAHOO ?? MSN ??? GOOGLE?? BAN the internet.. !! :)) what say U ?? lol stupidity at its best..

Faiza Javed | 14 years ago | Reply hats off to policy maker

GaGaN | 14 years ago | Reply Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) is banned too.

Faisal W | 14 years ago | Reply we should also close our borders... there is no guarantee what the infiedels will bring with them....

Ali Khan | 14 years ago | Reply huh. Another stupid decision.

Danish | 14 years ago | Reply lets ban Google. and then Yahoo and MSN. lets just turn off Internet. MORONS. really what a stupid nation n rulers and above all judges.

b | 14 years ago | Reply im amazed at the ignorance

Miks | 14 years ago | Reply Wikipedia is also blocked. Wonder where this psycho govt will stop.

Shaza | 14 years ago | Reply This is hardly a solution, blocking these sites is like fresh icing on a rotten cake.

Usman | 14 years ago | Reply Wiki is running though! flicker also running on my PC

NOOR | 14 years ago | Reply What we can't see or read won't hurt us.. Today u-tube, facebook, flickr, gmail, Blackberry Service.. Tomorrow ??? Where are the courts when we kill our own people for political control of a city????

NOOR | 14 years ago | Reply Wikipedia, Gmail, Orkut also blocked...

Hassan | 14 years ago | Reply These kind of actions should have been done proactively.... but so far so goood... That should be the spirit.. !!

Mo | 14 years ago | Reply I wonder when we will have school children coming out on roads protesting scarcity of clean drinking water, dearth of school teachers, and lack of basic, affordable healthcare! Maybe the judges at the LHC need to get their priorities right!

Nabeel | Create Your First Website | 14 years ago | Reply Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) is also banned.

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