Pakistan blocks Twitter access over ‘blasphemous content’

Pakistan on Sunday blocked access to Twitter in response to “blasphemous” material posted by users on the microblogging and social networking website, a senior government official said. “The website has been banned by Ministry of Information Technology and the decision was conveyed to us. There was blasphemous material on Twitter,” said Mohammad Younis Khan, spokesman for Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). “They (the ministry) have been discussing with them (Twitter) for some time now, requesting them to remove some particular content,” he said. Pakistan blocked access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and about 1,000 other websites for nearly two weeks in May 2010 over blasphemous content. Any representation of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) is deemed un-Islamic and blasphemous by many Muslims, who constitute the overwhelming majority in Pakistan. PTA did not specify which users or messages had prompted the ban. The Service Providers Association of Pakistan said its members have been asked to block Twitter indefinitely, but no reason has been provided by the government. PTA said the ban would be lifted after ongoing discussions between the Pakistan government and Twitter about the allegedly blasphemous material are resolved. Twitter has become increasingly popular in Pakistan in recent years, its users including politicians and government officials.