Pakistan blocks Wikipedia over 'blasphemous content'

The Pakistani government has blocked Wikipedia for reportedly hosting "blasphemous content." The ban came into force on Saturday after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a statement announcing the ban.

Wikipedia was given 48 hours to remove some content before it was blocked in the state. The PTA said that the decision was taken after the website failed to comply with its directives.

"Wikipedia was approached for blocking/removal of the said contents by issuing a notice under applicable law & 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 statement said.

PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid has said that the ban could be lifted if Wikipedia removes sacrilegious content from its website. However, the authorities did not specify what exactly they wanted removed from Wikipedia.

Meanwhile, the Wikimedia Foundation has condemned the ban, stating that it would "deprive everyone access to Pakistan's knowledge, history, and culture."

The move has also been slammed by rights activists in Pakistan, who have called the ban disproportionate and an assault on free speech.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive matter in Pakistan, and the country has some of the harshest blasphemy laws in the world. Minority communities, including Islamic sects, face frequent persecution in Muslim-majority Pakistan even though the state religion is Islam.

In 2021, a Sri Lankan factory manager accused of committing blasphemy was brutally tortured and beaten to death, and his body was eventually set ablaze by a mob in Pakistan.

It also needs to be noted that the ban came into force at a time when Pakistan has several other problems to deal with. The country is in the middle of an economic crisis and is fiscally bankrupt. It has been holding talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the hope of a bailout.

Recently, a suicide bombing killed scores of police in a mosque in Peshawar. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan in recent years.