Wikipedia, a popular online encyclopedia, has been banned by Pakistan. Islamabad’s tension with this organization has been on the rise for the past few days. It has given Pakistan 48 hours to remove heretical content from Wikipedia. However, the entire site has been banned by the Shahbaz Sharif government even after that, as the content has not been removed. The PTA had earlier controlled Wikipedia services for two days.
The online encyclopedia, known as Wikipedia, was repeatedly warned to remove blasphemous content from the website as soon as possible. However, the company did not listen to them. The Pakistani government then ordered that Wikipedia be taken down. The Pakistani government then declared the organization completely banned.
In a tweet, the Pakistan Telecom Authority said Wikipedia was banned. Wikipedia was supposed to remove heresy articles. But that article was not taken down within the stipulated time. All instructions have been deliberately ignored. 48 hours is more than enough time for that article to be removed from Wikipedia. Because of this, Wikipedia has been banned.
There has been a recent increase in surveillance on social media and websites in Pakistan. The government has also taken action against several sites. A few days ago, the government blocked more than 700 YouTube links. Shahbaz Sharif’s government claims these links spread ‘anti-Islam’ propaganda. A storm of protest has emerged in Pakistan against the government’s decision to ban Wikipedia. Workers of Digital Rights have taken to the streets to protest this decision.
“Wikipedia has been banned completely illegally by the Pakistani government, according to the organization, in an interview with AFP. Acts against the constitution have been committed. The argument being made by the government is ridiculous.” As a result of this decision by the Pakistan government, Digital Rights workers have claimed that students and teachers will be attacked by researchers.
