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Pakistan Blocks YouTube

YouTube access has been blocked in Pakistan for hosting material offensive to Islam.

Its telecommunications authority ordered internet service providers to block the site until further notice. Reports said the content included Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that have outraged many. However, one report said a trailer for a forthcoming film by Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, which portrays Islam in a negative light, was behind the ban.

Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan Internet Service Providers said:

“They asked us to ban it immediately… and the order says the ban will continue until further notice.”

Unfortunately, the method the ISPs used to block access to YouTube was said to affect users outside Pakistan, leading to a near worldwide outage.

Thanks to the BBC for the reports.

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Pakistan ‘on brink of political catastrophe’

As the situation in Pakistan grows more difficult, President Musharraf is in the UK over the weekend, and Amnesty has issued a press release explaining its concerns over the political difficulties and human rights violations which are ongoing in Pakistan.

Human rights violations are undermining prospect of free and fair elections

Amnesty International delivered a stark warning to Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf today (25 January 2008), stating that the country was on the brink of ‘political catastrophe’. Musharraf begins a four-day visit to the UK today, which is set to culminate with a meeting with Gordon Brown on Monday.

Pakistan is due to hold elections on 18 February, however, an Amnesty International delegation, which spent the last month in the country, has uncovered a worsening human rights crisis despite the lifting of the State of Emergency last month.

The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Amnesty International believes it represents a serious threat to the political process in Pakistan.

Find the press release here
And Amnesty’s previous statement here

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