Two days after giving Wikipedia a deadline to remove “blasphemous content,” Pakistan stopped the website on Saturday because it had not complied. On Wednesday, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) threatened to stop access to Wikipedia services if it disobeyed their directive. However, the agency made no mention of the material that the conservative nation found offensive.
Blasphemy is a touchy subject in Pakistan
According to Bloomberg, conversations between Pakistani officials and Wikipedia executives are still ongoing. Obaid stated that if the content is entirely gone, they will think about unblocking the platform. The website has not yet responded to this concern. “The action was taken because some of the content is still available on Wikipedia after the expiry of a 48-hour deadline,” Malahat Obaid, spokesperson for Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, told Bloomberg.
Blasphemy is a touchy subject in Pakistan, where those found guilty of insulting Islam face penalties, even the death penalty in some circumstances. PTA claimed on Wednesday that it had “degraded” Wikipedia services in the nation with a majority of Muslims because the site had disobeyed its request to delete the “illegal” content.
PTA has degraded Wikipedia services in the country on account of not blocking/removing sacrilegious contents
“PTA has degraded Wikipedia services in the country on account of not blocking/removing sacrilegious contents. Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law and court order(s). An opportunity of hearing was also provided, however, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority,” the official statement of Pakistan Telecom Authority said in an official release.
“Given the intentional failure on part of the platform to comply with the directions of PTA, the services of Wikipedia have been degraded for 48 hours with the direction to block/remove the reported contents,” the official release added.