ONI Country Profi le
343
Islamic Lawyers Association ’ s request for a court injunction to ban Facebook, while
the other Web sites were later banned because of “ objectionable material. ”
20 The
blanket Facebook ban was lifted after the page in question was removed; however, the
government stated that it would continue to block other Web sites that contained
“ blasphemous content. ”
21 In the following month, the government also ordered the
PTA to monitor “ offensive content ” on Amazon, Bing, Google, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo,
and YouTube.
22
Internet content that is critical of or draws negative attention toward the Pakistani
government and armed forces is also a target of fi ltering. In 2009, President Zardari
received widespread criticism after he passed a law prohibiting the spread of “ ill motivated and concocted stories through emails and text messages against the civilian
leadership ” after a fl ood of jokes about his government were sent to the president ’ s
offi cial e-mail.
23 In February 2010, YouTube was blocked by the PTA after videos of
Zardari yelling at a public gathering were posted on the site.
24 In October 2010, the
Pakistani army ordered videos of a Pakistani army offi cer beating a civilian in the Swat
Valley to be removed from popular video-sharing Web sites.
25
In addition to blasphemous material, Pakistan has blocked “ antistate ” content, Web
sites promoting Baluchi and Sindhi human rights and political movements, and
content regarding political autonomy and minorities. It has also blocked several Web
sites regarding Pashtun secessionism.
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
Former President Musharraf ’ s crackdowns on the media included content prohibitions
and enhanced government discretion toward licensing requirements in order to cultivate self-censorship. In 2002, Musharraf established the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to facilitate and regulate private electronic media.
26
One of the PEMRA ’ s fi rst acts was to lay out the regulatory framework that ultimately
served to support Musharraf ’ s drive to control and restrict independent journalism.
In recent years, violence toward minorities, journalists, and bloggers has increased
dramatically. In 2010, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Pakistan the deadliest country for journalists, with the deaths of six journalists and one media worker in
the span of six months.
27 In 2009, seven journalists and one media worker were killed,
and in 2008, six journalists were killed.
28
Pakistan is considered to have some of the world ’ s strictest laws regarding blasphemous material. In 1986 the penal code of 1860 was amended by the military regime
of General Zia-ul-Haq. The amended laws prescribed life imprisonment or death for
certain violations, and they have historically targeted Baluchi, Sindhi, Ahmadi, and
Christian groups.
29 Minorities and those voicing divergent viewpoints continue to be
targeted by extremist groups that use Pakistan ’ s blasphemy laws to justify their brutal
343
Islamic Lawyers Association ’ s request for a court injunction to ban Facebook, while
the other Web sites were later banned because of “ objectionable material. ”
20 The
blanket Facebook ban was lifted after the page in question was removed; however, the
government stated that it would continue to block other Web sites that contained
“ blasphemous content. ”
21 In the following month, the government also ordered the
PTA to monitor “ offensive content ” on Amazon, Bing, Google, Hotmail, MSN, Yahoo,
and YouTube.
22
Internet content that is critical of or draws negative attention toward the Pakistani
government and armed forces is also a target of fi ltering. In 2009, President Zardari
received widespread criticism after he passed a law prohibiting the spread of “ ill motivated and concocted stories through emails and text messages against the civilian
leadership ” after a fl ood of jokes about his government were sent to the president ’ s
offi cial e-mail.
23 In February 2010, YouTube was blocked by the PTA after videos of
Zardari yelling at a public gathering were posted on the site.
24 In October 2010, the
Pakistani army ordered videos of a Pakistani army offi cer beating a civilian in the Swat
Valley to be removed from popular video-sharing Web sites.
25
In addition to blasphemous material, Pakistan has blocked “ antistate ” content, Web
sites promoting Baluchi and Sindhi human rights and political movements, and
content regarding political autonomy and minorities. It has also blocked several Web
sites regarding Pashtun secessionism.
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
Former President Musharraf ’ s crackdowns on the media included content prohibitions
and enhanced government discretion toward licensing requirements in order to cultivate self-censorship. In 2002, Musharraf established the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to facilitate and regulate private electronic media.
26
One of the PEMRA ’ s fi rst acts was to lay out the regulatory framework that ultimately
served to support Musharraf ’ s drive to control and restrict independent journalism.
In recent years, violence toward minorities, journalists, and bloggers has increased
dramatically. In 2010, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Pakistan the deadliest country for journalists, with the deaths of six journalists and one media worker in
the span of six months.
27 In 2009, seven journalists and one media worker were killed,
and in 2008, six journalists were killed.
28
Pakistan is considered to have some of the world ’ s strictest laws regarding blasphemous material. In 1986 the penal code of 1860 was amended by the military regime
of General Zia-ul-Haq. The amended laws prescribed life imprisonment or death for
certain violations, and they have historically targeted Baluchi, Sindhi, Ahmadi, and
Christian groups.
29 Minorities and those voicing divergent viewpoints continue to be
targeted by extremist groups that use Pakistan ’ s blasphemy laws to justify their brutal