Pakistan lifts ban on YouTube only to impose it once again
In a curious turn of events, Pakistan lifted the 103-day ban on YouTube
on Saturday only to impose it again within a couple of hours as some
television channels began reporting that the blasphemous content — which
had invited the proscription in the first place — was still available
on the video-sharing website.
The day began with hopes of the ban being lifted as Interior Minister
Rehman Malik tweeted in the wee hours of Saturday that the notification
ending the ban could be “expected today.”
And, sure enough, the ban was lifted early in the day with all Internet
Service Providers being asked to “immediately block/restore complete
YouTube website provisionally till further orders” and submit compliance
through email by 3 p.m.
As word got around and television channels broke the story, some
reported that the blasphemous film Innocence of Muslims was still
available on YouTube.
This saw the government swing into action and
order a fresh ban on the website. How long YouTube remained accessible
is unclear but from the various versions available, the duration was
anywhere between 33 minutes to two hours.
Pakistan banned YouTube on September 17 amid a rising tide of protests against the film.
Persistent demand
Since then there has been a persistent demand for lifting the ban on
YouTube which in Pakistan doubles up as a key platform for musicians to
launch their new songs as space for expression in any form is shrinking
by the day.
Several musicians have had to either move to alternate platforms or delay launch of their song in view of the ban.
Read more...