ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has lifted its ban Wikipedia Services before dawn on Tuesday, after the country’s media regulator blocked the site last week for failing to remove allegedly blasphemous content, saying it hurts the feelings of Muslims.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the release on Monday evening, according to a government statement. The site was blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority on Friday, after a deadline Pakistan gave Wikipedia to remove the controversial content expired.
The ban drew criticism and many actions from Islamabad, saying it was a blow to digital rights and deprived the public of the right to seek knowledge.
As anger grew, Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Monday that Sharif’s five-member committee had looked into the matter and ordered the immediate restoration of Wikipedia services.
The government did not provide any explanation or details about what content it deemed anti-Islam, and the media regulator never explained what content was meant to hurt. Muslim sentiments in Pakistan.
Under Pakistan controversy blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its personalities can be sentenced to death, although the country has not yet applied the death penalty for blasphemy.
But even allegations of infringement are often enough to provoke mob violence and even deadly attacks. International and domestic rights groups say blasphemy charges have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
The Wikimedia Foundation welcomed the lifting of the ban. His statement said lifting the ban “means that the people of Pakistan can continue to benefit from and participate” in the growth of a global movement “to spread and share verified, trusted and free knowledge.”
In the past, Pakistan briefly banned TikTok twice for uploading immoral content. Additionally, in 2008, Pakistan banned YouTube for videos depicting the Prophet Muhammad, sparking angry protests across the country as Muslims view any physical depiction of the prophet as blasphemous.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the release on Monday evening, according to a government statement. The site was blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority on Friday, after a deadline Pakistan gave Wikipedia to remove the controversial content expired.
The ban drew criticism and many actions from Islamabad, saying it was a blow to digital rights and deprived the public of the right to seek knowledge.
As anger grew, Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said Monday that Sharif’s five-member committee had looked into the matter and ordered the immediate restoration of Wikipedia services.
The government did not provide any explanation or details about what content it deemed anti-Islam, and the media regulator never explained what content was meant to hurt. Muslim sentiments in Pakistan.
Under Pakistan controversy blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its personalities can be sentenced to death, although the country has not yet applied the death penalty for blasphemy.
But even allegations of infringement are often enough to provoke mob violence and even deadly attacks. International and domestic rights groups say blasphemy charges have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
The Wikimedia Foundation welcomed the lifting of the ban. His statement said lifting the ban “means that the people of Pakistan can continue to benefit from and participate” in the growth of a global movement “to spread and share verified, trusted and free knowledge.”
In the past, Pakistan briefly banned TikTok twice for uploading immoral content. Additionally, in 2008, Pakistan banned YouTube for videos depicting the Prophet Muhammad, sparking angry protests across the country as Muslims view any physical depiction of the prophet as blasphemous.
