Pakistan Unblocks YouTube

Community video portal once again accessible to Internet users Pakistani.

YouTube is back in the good graces of new Pakistan, the country with the decision to remove YouTube to censor its blacklist after it removed a “blasphemous” video on the web.

The video in question appears to vary, depending on who is telling the story. According to the AP, the video in question is a trailer for the next film Forbidden, made by a Dutch filmmaker who said he wanted to “release a film that portrays Islam as fascist and likely to incite violence against women and homosexuals. ” Meanwhile, officials of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority told AFP that the video in question contained caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published by the Dutch press in 2006.

Regardless of whether the videos were considered “totally against the Koran” and “very blasphemous,” some seem to think that the Pakistani government had a deeper agenda. Siraj Wahaj us, chief of the Pakistan Association of Internet Service Providers, noted that “some Internet users are skeptical” about the official explanation Pakistan.

“[They think that] the government banned YouTube because it contained shots of a private television channel which showed the election rigging,” said Siraj.

“No Muslim who wants to see the content on any website blasphemous,” said one anonymous internet user to AFP, “The government is really concerned about his defeat in the elections and the fear of criticism and comments on YouTube videos. “

When initially blocked Pakistan YouTube last Sunday, an application error caused a power outage around the world the place for almost two hours. According to a top official of the PTA, “this was not intentional and that would have happened if an international company, which is the routing of Internet traffic to Pakistan, tried to block [YouTube].”

The Pakistani government said that YouTube blocked to prevent a repetition of the violent protests that emerged over the 2006 cartoon, in which Muhammad with his head uncovered a bomb and a turban. PTA spokesman Nabiha Mahmood said the government initially filed a complaint through the complaint system YouTube, YouTube, but never responded.