Free Speech
YouTube Blocked again in Pakistan
It is being reported on the mailing list for the Society Against Internet Censorship in Pakistan that YouTube is yet again being blocked here in Pakistan. Though no notification has yet surfaced from the the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority but most users are reporting a total blackout showing error pages while accessing youtube.com
A little investigation [...]
Geert Wilders uploads Fitna, but host forced to delete video a day later
The Dutch right-wing politician Geert Wilders has posted his controversial film critical of Islam’s holy book, the Koran, on the Internet. I personally have not seen this video and do not plan to watch it simply in protest of his deliberate attempt to spark hatred along religious lines. Generally when reading the description [...]
Internet Service Provider shuts down Anti-Islamic Dutch Film website
Network Solutions, the host of Geert Wilders website for hosting his Anti-Islamic Video has shut down the website after receiving numerous complaints against it. The following text appeared on the offending website
This site has been suspended while Network Solutions is investigating whether the site’s content is in violation of the Network Solutions Acceptable Use [...]
Pakistan-wide censorship results in 2-hour YouTube Global Shutdown
Yesterday in a funny yet serious incident youtube was knocked off-line for over two hours and in a comedy of events the blame goes squarely on our beloved Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and their attempt to censor the offending video of the Dutch (Right-Wing) Politician Geert Wilders. Yesterday we had reported that the offending video [...]
Blasphemous YouTube video removed due to TOS violation
We have just been informed that the blasphemous youtube video has been removed from the youtube servers for violating the Terms and conditions of Youtube, this video had been the cause of censorship of the entire youtube domain in Pakistan as enforced by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
I hope this development can convince the PTA to [...]
TWA Internet backbone blocks only Blasphemous video URL
Yesterday all Internet users in Pakistan were up in arms protesting the sudden censorship of the entire Youtube.com domain. A number of theories circulated which ranged from vote rigging videos to the cartoon video containing the blasphemous images disgracing our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority the appointed monitoring agency had issued a notification blocking [...]
‘Bolta Pakistan’ censored in certain areas of Pakistan
“Bolta Pakistan” an AAJ.tv show featuring Mushtaq Minhas and Nusrat Javed came ‘on air’ today and barely five minutes later certain parts of the country namely Islamabad and Karachi were taken off the air. A viewer reported that the comparers had started discussing the negotiations taking place between the PPP hierarchy and the US [...]
Vote Rigging Videos in Karachi - could this be why YouTube is blocked?
A few videos appeared yesterday barely a few days following the elections showing some polling officers setting up the voting process. I have personally not seen them but am told that they show some serious election manipulations of the four videos that were online two have been deleted but two specific videos still [...]
Youtube blocked in Pakistan
Just in - Youtube seems to have been blocked in Pakistan
There are two theories one is that an Anti Islamic movie was being blocked while another theory is that a few videos did surface which showed poll rigging in Karachi
Sources say that this video could very well be the objectionable video that is [...]
Hamid Mir shares his concerns about the restricted media
Mr. Hamid Mir, a very prominent anchor of Geo TV who was banned from appearing on any TV show after the emergency shares his feelings in this letter submitted after the press conference he had on the invitation of Pakistan Federal Union Journalists . Its a must read specially if you want to understand [...]
AAJ TV Blackballed again because of Live with Talat
A day back around 11:30 at night on Feb 6th AAJ TV was suddenly taken off the air in the regions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and according to AAJ it was blocked up to Chakwal 60 km away. Live with Talat was due to air a discussion with Nusrat Javeed while some sources say [...]
Wiredpakistan.com blocked in Pakistan
digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/security/Wiredpakistan_com_A_Tech_Forum_CENSORED_in_Pakistan’;
WiredPakistan.com a technology blog and the forum run by KO for the past year has in a very astonishing development come under the censorship umbrella as per the directive issued by Network Operations Center at the Pakistan Internet Exchange.
A careful watch has been setup to monitor which ISP’s comply with this [...]
RSF Questions Cyber Crime Law in Pakistan
Reporters Without Borders has written a strong letter to the Minister of Information and Technology questioning the Government of Pakistan on the Cyber Crime Ordinance which was promulgated into effect barely a two weeks ago. Reporters Without Borders fears that a new law on cyber crime, revealed on 7 January by the authorities, will pose [...]
Cyber Crime Ordinance Promulgated by the President
UPDATE 2: we can now confirm that the Ordinance is in full effect, infact its been in full force since 31st of December, but it will come up on the National Assembly floor in four months or 120 days.
UPDATE: Some helpful reporters of Dawn News are on the prowl to get full confirmation from the [...]
Daughters of Asma Jehangir Assaulted
A statement has just be issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission calling attention to the assault on the daughters of Asma Jehangir, the leading Human Rights Activist in Pakistan where she alleges that her daughters assaulted and illegally held for several hours along with their friends by armed persons of the Pakistan Muslim League [...]
