Pakistan restores Twitter access blocked over "blasphemous" posts

Pakistan restores Twitter access blocked over
May 21, 2012 - 20:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Pakistan restored access to Twitter after briefly blocking the micro-blog over "blasphemous" posts about a Facebook competition involving caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed, News 24 reported.

The website was blocked on Sunday, May 21 by the telecoms authority on the orders of the IT ministry amid accusations it refused to remove messages about the Facebook contest.

But the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) restored access to Twitter in the evening, several hours after it was cut off, said spokesperson Mohammad Younis Khan.

The reason for the U-turn was not immediately clear. Khan said it was the IT ministry's decision and he did not know why it had been taken, and no one from the ministry or Twitter was available for comment.

Speaking before the ban was lifted on Sunday, Khan said that there was "blasphemous material" on Twitter and that the organisers of the competition had been "trying to hurt Muslim feelings". Islam bans images of the Prophet.

 Top stories
Yerevan to host WCIT 2024Yerevan to host WCIT 2024
Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT).
Armenia moves to tax profits from Facebook, GoogleArmenia moves to tax profits from Facebook, Google
Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues.
Krisp raises $5m A round for its voice-isolating algorithmKrisp raises $5m A round for its voice-isolating algorithm
Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls.
Board Chairman։ Top officials have demanded Ucom alienationBoard Chairman։ Top officials have demanded Ucom alienation
Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020."
Partner news
 Articles
Revolut launches in Armenia

Fast and free money transfers, no hidden fees

 Most popular in the section
Ralph Yirikian to take over Ucom as CEO; Ara Khachatryan stepping down
Viva-MTS +Premium offers additional 30 GB, Yandex Plus subscription
Ucom offers Xiaomi Redmi 12 at AMD 1500 / month, Plus wireless earbuds
Pure Storage launches Next-generation FlashArray//X and FlashArray//C R4 models
Home
All news
Overview: IT & Technology
Archive for May 21, 2012
Other news in this section
 Latest news
Turkey replacing term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks The Turkish Ministry of Education is replacing the term "Central Asia" with "Turkestan" in textbooks.
Armenian, German presidents meet in Berlin Armenian and German Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Frank-Walter Steinmeier met in Berlin.
Armenia assumes presidency of Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities The Commission on Television and Radio of Armenia said it expects productive cooperation in various formats.
Balance of attached cards in the Idram&IDBank app From now on, users will be able to view the online balances of cards issued by ArCa system banks and attached to the app.
---