Internet censorship through up-to-date blogs, as
well as by posting information on Wikipedia.
Through these sites, users share a multitude of
techniques to circumvent the URL block and continue to access their Web sites of choice. An
example of this is the use of www.pkblogs.com to
access and post on banned www.blogspot.com
sites.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Internet censorship in Pakistan is legally regulated by the PTA, under the directive of the government, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and the
Ministry of Information Technology and
Telecommunications (MITT). The PTA implements its censorship regulations through directives handed down to the PTCL, 12 of which the
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
(Etisalat) took majority control in 2006. 13
In February 2002 the PTA challenged the
legality of the use of Voice-over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) as a replacement for long-distance calls.
Because VoIP has achieved considerable popularity as a cost-effective alternative to longdistance calls, the PTCL banned VoIP and voice
chat Web sites in early 2002; the service was
undermining revenues for outgoing longdistance phone calls to the United States. 14
In January 2003 the MITT directed the PTCL
to block pornographic and blasphemous sites by
placing content filters at all Internet exchanges, 15
an effort that was not entirely effective.
16
In March
2004 the Federal Investigation Agency also
ordered all ISPs to block pornographic Web sites,
a task beyond the technical capability of the ISPs
at the time. 17
On February 28, 2006, the PTCL issued a
blocking directive banning a dozen URLs determined to have posted controversial Danish cartoons depicting images of the Prophet Muhammad. 18 Within two weeks in March, in a series of
escalating instructions, the Supreme Court
directed the government to block all Web sites
displaying the cartoons; to explain why they had
not been blocked earlier; to block all blasphemous content; and to determine how access to
such content could be denied on the Internet
worldwide. 19 The Supreme Court also ordered
police to register cases of publishing or posting
the blasphemous images under Article 295-C of
the Pakistan Penal Code, where blasphemy or
defamation of the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death. 20 Desecration or derogation of the
Quran is punishable by life imprisonment.
21
On September 2, 2006, the MITT announced
the creation of a committee to monitor content of
offensive Web sites. According to the Ministry
statement, “the committee, headed by the secretary of the MITT, will examine contents of websites reported or found to be offensive and containing anti-state material.” 22 To address the
grievances of Internet users with this censorship
body, the government set up a Deregulation
Facilitation Unit to deal with users’ complaints. 23
ONI testing results
ONI field testing was conducted on Brainnet,
Cybernet, and Paknet ISPs. Testing results
showed that blacklisted URLs were blocked at
either the ISP or PIE level, or at both locations.
The PTCL has implemented a limited, perhaps
symbolic, block on pornography and religious
conversion sites. However, more aggressive
efforts have been made to target content regarding Balochi independence movements, Sindhi
human rights and political autonomy movements, material considered blasphemous,
antigovernment material, and anti-Islamic materials, though a clear pattern or criteria for what is
filtered is lacking. Among these categories, Web
sites depicting blasphemous content or addressing Balochi political independence were the most
comprehensively blocked.
Because one of the twelve Web sites identified as depicting the Danish cartoons was hosted
on Blogspot, the PTCL used a blocking mechanism that filtered the entire www.blogspot.com
domain. As a result of this strategy, thousands of
Country Summaries
357
well as by posting information on Wikipedia.
Through these sites, users share a multitude of
techniques to circumvent the URL block and continue to access their Web sites of choice. An
example of this is the use of www.pkblogs.com to
access and post on banned www.blogspot.com
sites.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Internet censorship in Pakistan is legally regulated by the PTA, under the directive of the government, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and the
Ministry of Information Technology and
Telecommunications (MITT). The PTA implements its censorship regulations through directives handed down to the PTCL, 12 of which the
Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
(Etisalat) took majority control in 2006. 13
In February 2002 the PTA challenged the
legality of the use of Voice-over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) as a replacement for long-distance calls.
Because VoIP has achieved considerable popularity as a cost-effective alternative to longdistance calls, the PTCL banned VoIP and voice
chat Web sites in early 2002; the service was
undermining revenues for outgoing longdistance phone calls to the United States. 14
In January 2003 the MITT directed the PTCL
to block pornographic and blasphemous sites by
placing content filters at all Internet exchanges, 15
an effort that was not entirely effective.
16
In March
2004 the Federal Investigation Agency also
ordered all ISPs to block pornographic Web sites,
a task beyond the technical capability of the ISPs
at the time. 17
On February 28, 2006, the PTCL issued a
blocking directive banning a dozen URLs determined to have posted controversial Danish cartoons depicting images of the Prophet Muhammad. 18 Within two weeks in March, in a series of
escalating instructions, the Supreme Court
directed the government to block all Web sites
displaying the cartoons; to explain why they had
not been blocked earlier; to block all blasphemous content; and to determine how access to
such content could be denied on the Internet
worldwide. 19 The Supreme Court also ordered
police to register cases of publishing or posting
the blasphemous images under Article 295-C of
the Pakistan Penal Code, where blasphemy or
defamation of the Prophet Muhammad is punishable by death. 20 Desecration or derogation of the
Quran is punishable by life imprisonment.
21
On September 2, 2006, the MITT announced
the creation of a committee to monitor content of
offensive Web sites. According to the Ministry
statement, “the committee, headed by the secretary of the MITT, will examine contents of websites reported or found to be offensive and containing anti-state material.” 22 To address the
grievances of Internet users with this censorship
body, the government set up a Deregulation
Facilitation Unit to deal with users’ complaints. 23
ONI testing results
ONI field testing was conducted on Brainnet,
Cybernet, and Paknet ISPs. Testing results
showed that blacklisted URLs were blocked at
either the ISP or PIE level, or at both locations.
The PTCL has implemented a limited, perhaps
symbolic, block on pornography and religious
conversion sites. However, more aggressive
efforts have been made to target content regarding Balochi independence movements, Sindhi
human rights and political autonomy movements, material considered blasphemous,
antigovernment material, and anti-Islamic materials, though a clear pattern or criteria for what is
filtered is lacking. Among these categories, Web
sites depicting blasphemous content or addressing Balochi political independence were the most
comprehensively blocked.
Because one of the twelve Web sites identified as depicting the Danish cartoons was hosted
on Blogspot, the PTCL used a blocking mechanism that filtered the entire www.blogspot.com
domain. As a result of this strategy, thousands of
Country Summaries
357