The online encyclopedia was blocked up in the country “for not having responded to our repeated messages to remove the blasphemous content within the deadline” indicated, explained the PTA spokesperson, Malahat Obaid.
The entity had given a term to Wikipedia until Friday night to remove that content, about which details were not known. “They removed some of the material, but not all”he pointed out and added that Wikipedia “will remain blocked up until they remove all objectionable material.”
The Foundation Wikimediawhich manages Wikipediaregretted the decision, that “denies the fifth most populous country in the world access to largest repertoire of free knowledge“. “If this continues, will deprive everyone in Pakistan of knowledge, history, culture,” the organization said in a statement.
The defenders of freedom of expression have long criticized the censorship imposed by different governments and their Internet and media control. “The main goal is silence any dissenters“said the digital rights activist, usama khilji, in statements to the AFP news agency. “Many times the blasphemy as a thrown weapon for that purpose,” he stressed.
In 2010, Pakistan blocking Facebook for two weeks over an allegedly blasphemous post. AND Youtube was inaccessible from 2012 to 2016 due to the spread of a islamophobic amateur movie that unleashed violent protests in numerous countries.
Source: Ambito
