YouTube ban lifted in Pakistan

Only objectionable content to be blocked

PTI | May 27, 2010



Pakistani authorities have lifted a ban on video-sharing website YouTube though Internet links with objectionable material such as blasphemous caricatures will continue to be blocked, officials said today.

The Information and Technology Ministry lifted the ban on YouTube, which was blocked six days ago after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority began cracking down on "blasphemous" and sacrilegious content.

Pakistani Internet service providers restored access to YouTube late this evening.

Officials said videos deemed offensive to Muslims that are posted on YouTube will continue to be blocked.

Acting on an order of the Lahore High Court, PTA initially blocked social networking website Facebook for hosting a page that promoted a contest to draw blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Mohammed.

Internet service providers have so far blocked about 800 URLs that link to "sacrilegious" content.

Since last week, religious and hardline groups have organised protests across the country against the caricatures.

YouTube was briefly banned in Pakistan in 2008 for carrying material deemed offensive to Muslims.

Facebook continues to be banned and the Lahore High Court's order on the social networking website is applicable till May 31.

In a message posted on Twitter today, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said a meeting of the federal cabinet had condemned "blasphemous material" on websites.

He said the cabinet had also accepted his proposal to block only objectionable "sections of Facebook and YouTube".

 

Comments

 

Other News

AI: Code, Control, Conquer

India today stands at a critical juncture in the area of artificial intelligence. While the country is among the fastest adopters of AI in the world, it remains heavily reliant on technologies developed elsewhere. This paradox, experts warn, cannot persist if India seeks technological sovereignty.

RBI pauses to assess inflation risks, policy transmission

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun the new fiscal year with a calibrated pause, keeping the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in its April Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The decision, taken unanimously, reflects a shift from aggressive policy action to cautious observation after a signi

New pathways for tourism growth

Traditionally, India’s tourism policy has been based on three main components: the number of visitors, building tourist attractions and providing facilities for tourists. Due to the increase in climate-related issues and environmental destruction that occurred over previous years, policymakers have b

Is the US a superpower anymore?

On April 8, hours after warning that “a whole civilisation will die tonight,” US president Donald Trump, exhibiting his unique style of retreating from high-voltage brinkmanship, announced that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran. The weekend talks in Islamabad have failed and the futur

Machines communicate, humans connect

There is a moment every event professional knows—the kind that arrives without warning, usually an hour before the curtain rises. Months of meticulous planning are in place. And then comes the call: “We’ll also need a projector. For the slides.”   No email

Why India is entering a ‘stagflation lite’ phase

India’s macroeconomic narrative is quietly shifting—from a rare “Goldilocks” equilibrium of stable growth and contained inflation to a more fragile phase where external shocks are beginning to dominate domestic policy outcomes. The numbers still look reassuring at first glance: GDP


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter