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Monday, May 21, 2012
Pakistan restores Twitter after brief blockISLAMABAD: Pakistan restored access to Twitter on Sunday, just hours after blocking the site over posts allegedly promoting a Facebook competition involving blasphemous content, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) spokesman Mohammad Younis Khan said.
“Twitter service has been restored,” said the spokesman. It had been cut off around 12 hours earlier. Explaining why the site was blocked, the spokesman said, “There was blasphemous material on Twitter. Both Facebook and Twitter were involved. We negotiated with both. Facebook agreed to remove the stuff but Twitter was not responding to us.”
Earlier, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Pakistan condemned the ban, saying, “The right to free speech is non-negotiable. Free speech can and should only be countered with free speech.” The HRW Pakistan director had said the government of Pakistan’s ban on Twitter was ill-advised, counter-productive and futile as all such attempts at censorship had proved to be. Twitter is widely used in Pakistan, including by prominent public figures such as celebrities, cricketers, cabinet ministers and members of parliament. Former president Pervez Musharraf, in exile in Britain, regularly tweets, as does Interior Minister Rehman Malik, and Ali Zafar, the popular actor and musician. Asma Jahangir, the leading lawyer, is also on Twitter. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk