Pakistan unblocks Wikipedia website, banned on charges of blasphemous content

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Pakistan Unblock Wikipedia: Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif has ordered to remove the ban on Wikipedia website with immediate effect. Earlier, Pakistan’s telecommunications watchdog banned Wikipedia for failing to remove objectionable and blasphemous content.

PM Shahbaz Sharif ordered

Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Maryam Aurangzeb posted Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s order on her Twitter account on Monday, saying that the PM has ordered the removal of the ban on the website with immediate effect. He said, the Prime Minister has also constituted a cabinet committee to look into matters related to Wikipedia and other online content.

Pakistan had given an ultimatum of 48 hours

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia edited by volunteers from around the world. According to a spokesman, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said it had blocked Wikipedia because it had ignored a 48-hour deadline to remove content. The regulator’s spokesperson Malhat Obaid said that such things hurt the sentiments of Muslims. He said that the website was also given an opportunity of hearing, but it neither complied with the order to remove the blasphemous content nor appeared before the authority.

Wikimedia Foundation gave this response

At the same time, the Wikimedia Foundation said last Friday that it does not decide what content is included on Wikipedia or how that content is maintained. Critics condemned the move, saying it violated Pakistanis’ rights to access information. Major social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube have also been banned in the past for blasphemous content.

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