Pakistan’s media regulator said Monday it blocked Wikipedia services in the country for hurting Muslim sentiment by not removing purportedly blasphemous content from the site. Critics denounced Islamabad’s action, saying it was a blow to digital rights.
Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or its figures can be sentenced to death, although the country has yet to carry out capital punishment for blasphemy.
Even allegations of the offence are often enough to provoke mob violence and even deadly attacks. International and domestic rights groups say that accusations of blasphemy have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and settle personal scores.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority says it blocked Wikipedia because a 48-hour deadline to remove the unspecified content was ignored, according to a spokesperson.
“Such things hurt the sentiments of Muslims,” said Malahat Obaid, from the regulator.
She said Pakistani authorities are in talks with Wikipedia officials and the ban could be lifted if the platform completely removes anti-Islam content.
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The Wikimedia Foundation, in a statement on Saturday confirming the ban, said it has “a sizeable and engaged community of editors in Pakistan.”
“A block of Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the fifth-most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository,” the foundation said. “If it continues, it will also deprive everyone of access to Pakistan’s knowledge, history and culture.”
Mohsin Raza Khan, a Pakistani social media expert, said it is easy to update or replace Wikipedia material deemed sacrilegious or offensive for Muslims — so blocking the site is not the answer.
Wikipedia has been blocked in Pakistan.<br><br>Today, Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority blocked <a href=”https://twitter.com/Wikipedia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wikipedia</a> and other Wikimedia projects in the country.<br><br>Follow the thread for more information 🧵⬇️ (1/4)<a href=”https://t.co/8xM73if9B2″>https://t.co/8xM73if9B2</a>
—@Wikimedia
“Pakistan’s media regulator and other authorities should try to find some viable technical solution to such problems, as blasphemous content is available everywhere,” he said. “It is equal to a drop in the ocean of knowledge.”
The Lahore-based Digital Rights Foundation earlier called the Wikipedia ban an affront to Pakistanis’ right to access information and a mockery of the country’s commitment to uphold its human rights obligations.
In the past, Pakistan briefly banned TikTok twice for allegedly uploading “immoral, obscene and vulgar” content.
But the ban was later lifted after TikTok assured Pakistan it would remove immoral content and also block users who upload “unlawful content.” The app was downloaded millions of times in Pakistan when the ban was imposed in 2020 and 2021.
In 2008, Pakistan banned YouTube over videos depicting Prophet Muhammad. Muslims generally believe any physical depiction of Islam’s prophet is blasphemous.
