pakistan blocks wikipedia says it hurts muslim sentiments, breaking
On Monday the media in Pakistan blocked the service of Wikipedia in their region. The reason behind it is that the content on Wikipedia was hitting Muslim sentiments.
The action by Islamabad came after a huge series of criticism and condemnation from the public, but the action is a blow to digital rights.
Under the controversial blasphemy laws of Pakistan, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its figures can be punished by death. However, the country does not yet have a provision for the death penalty for blasphemy.
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Claims of a crime are often enough to incite mob violence and even fatal attacks. Domestic and international rights groups say blasphemy charges are often used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal enmities.
According to a spokesman, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority says it blocked Wikipedia because a 48-hour deadline to remove content was ignored. Malhat Obaid, on behalf of the regulator, said, “Such things hurt the sentiments of Muslims.”
Though the talk between Wikipedia officials and officials of Pakistan are in touch. The ban can be removed from Wikipedia if the platform completely removes anti-Islam content from its website.
This Saturday the Wikimedia Foundation confirmed the ban implemented by Pakistan. Team Wikipedia stated on their official nodes that “We hope that the Government of Pakistan will join its commitment to knowledge as a human right and immediately restore access to @Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects so that the people of Pakistan can obtain and share Carry on.”