With around 30 million individual internet connections in Pakistan and growing fast, it was never going to be easy to block access completely — short of shutting down the internet altogether in Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
One can only welcome the remarks made by members of a Senate committee on April 21, where they unanimously asked the government to reopen YouTube. The world’s leading video-sharing website has been blocked in Pakistan for 582 days so far and now there seems to be a glimmer of hope that perhaps, the end to the ban may be in sight. Millions of netizens have found ways around the YouTube ban by using proxy servers, some of which have themselves been blocked from being downloaded — only to be reprogrammed in order to avoid being blocked in Pakistan. With around 30 million individual internet connections in Pakistan and growing fast, it was never going to be easy to block access completely — short of shutting down the internet altogether in Pakistan. The YouTube ban has become a travesty, and other nations snigger behind their hands at silly little Pakistan. Again.
Once again we appear to be on the brink of an outbreak of commonsense in this matter. In that sense, what the Functional Committee on Human Rights in the Senate said on April 21 needs to be followed through. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed told the committee that even countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE had not blocked access to YouTube.
The chairperson of the Senate committee said that even the head of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority himself believes that the ban was not useful and widely circumvented. The YouTube ban has become nothing more than a monumental embarrassment, an exercise in myopia and small-mindedness that panders to the lowest common denominator. Whatever point was being made in September 2011 when the ban was imposed amid a welter of violence and destruction — is long lost. The internet is a powerful resource for commerce and learning in Pakistan, and yet the government persists in denying access to a universal learning tool — YouTube — at who knows what cost to the current generation of students. Stop this nonsense. Now.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (5)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
the so-called leaders of pakistan lake vision to foresee things. the importance of uncensorred internet and media is vital in todays world; by not allowing it to people they are leaving them in ignorence and powerty. which i think they consider better for them. Open YOUTUBE u fools
Controlling what people read/say/watch seems to be a high priority in Pakistan .. you even execute people for saying things that offend your religious views. Maybe you should consider going the other way ... if you ban the Internet entirely your much more likely to keep people from reading/watching content that you don't agree with.
What needs to happen is that, they should open YouTube and shut down the 10-12 news channels. If anything is destroying the country its the ordinary BA bass anchors who are overpaid, obnoxious, biased and hypocritical without any substance. The country will be much better off, by opening up you tube
A culture famous for banning everything with the hope that either evil will disappear or follow the diktat of 'our' moral values is bound to fail unless you can force those countries not under your control to change ways, unlike the hapless citizens in Pakistan. In 21st century if you do not like anything, you point out the weaknesses and hope for results. It is just like banning alcohol. Has it decreased consumption? The only result is that people have carried on in private. Worst still, it has encouraged many to drug addiction. I have met many who avoid visiting Pakistan because there is no bear. Moral of the story? Listen to reason and not narrow minded people who do not see that there is nothing constant but change. Those who stop change are left behind. I say lift the ban, even though it might result in violent reaction from the religious corner.
Pakistan is by and large an indoctrinated nation. The above article is just one more proof. We indoctrinate and brainwash ourselves and expect the world to sympathize. We are hypocrites to the core. We do not wish to enjoy life, and do not wish others to do so either. What exactly have we achieved by banning You Tube? Have we proved to the world and to ourselves that we are the best Muslims. Why does it take so long to think what is wrong and what is right, we are most sensitive when other nations look down upon us for banning You Tube, should they really look to us at all ?.