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22/02: YouTube blocked by PTA!

The popular video sharing site 'YouTube' has been blocked by all ISPs in Pakistan on PTA directive. It is, reportedly, the second most visited website on the internet trailing Google itself, which owns YouTube.

This leads to a dark recollection of the blanket blocking of the blogspot.com domain which rendered all blogs hosted on Blogspot inaccessible for the majority of Pakistani users who didn't knew how to utilize proxy servers and about bypassing such restrictions.

An email from Micronet Broadband Limited [MBL], a leading ISP in Islamabad follows:

Dear Valued Customer:

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (www.pta.gov.pk) has directed all ISPs of the country to block access to www.youtube.com web site for containing blasphemous web content/movies.

The site would remain blocked till further orders from PTA. Meanwhile, Internet users can write to youtube.com to remove the objectionable web content/movies because this removal would enable the authorities to order un-blocking of this web site.

We're sorry for any inconvenience.

Best Regards

Manager
Technical Assistance Center
Micronet Broadband Pvt. Ltd.
Islamabad


I don't understand why exactly we should write to YouTube for removing the objectionable content. Why doesn't PTA blocks specific videos, if it want to censor the stuff, which itself is reprehensible. Why don't they, instead, raise an awareness campaign and let the people decide to not see those videos? Are they so incompetent that they don't know how to do it?

And most of all, why don't the complainants just grow a thicker skin?!?

I just now ended a call with MBL while writing up this post confirming the details above. It is indeed a sad state of affairs. I urge everyone to contact PTA and pressurize them by expressing your thoughts and feeling via the PTA website (www.pta.gov.pk) and through the media.

For complaining to PTA, there are multiple options:

1 - Call them on their 24/7 toll free number 0800-55055, or,
2 - Send a web form based complaints from this page, or,
3 - Contact the people listed below (via snail mail, telephone or email) depending on your locality, to voice/register your complain:

a. Officer Incharge PTA Complaint Cell.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority,
Sector F-5/1, Islamabad.
Phone No. 92-51-9225325, 9225318
Fax No. 92-51-2878127.
E-mail. complaint@pta.gov.pk

b. Director (Enforcement), Lahore.
PTA Zonal Office, 165-Abid Majid Road Adjacent Telephone Exchange, Lahore Cantt.
Tel: 92-42-6665022 Fax: 92-42-6654009
Email: ptalahore@pta.gov.pk

c. Deputy Director (Enforcement), Rawalpindi.
PTA Zonal Office, 222/5, Khadim Hussain Road, Rawalpindi Cantt.
Tel: 92-51-5585380, 5121362 (Exch) Fax: 92-51-5585761
Email: rawalpindi@pta.gov.pk

d. Director (Enforcement), Quetta.
PTA Zonal Office, 213-B, Jinnah Town, Quetta
Tel: 92-81-2829476 Fax: 92-81-2829477
Email: quetta@pta.gov.pk

e. Deputy Director (Enforcement), Peshawar.
PTA Zonal Office, Plot No. 11, Sector A-3, Phase-V, Hayatabad, Peshawar
Tel: 92-91-9217279, 5829178 Fax: 92-91-9217254
Email: peshawar@pta.gov.pk

f. Director (Enforcement), Karachi.
PTA Zonal Office, Wireless Compound, Opposite JPMC, Rafiqui Shaheed Road, Karachi. 75530
Tel: 92-21-5680101 Fax: 92-21-5680640
Email: karachi@pta.gov.pk

g. Deputy Director (Enforcement), Muzaffarabad.
PTA Regional Office, D-72, Upper Chattar Housing Scheme, Muzaffarabad.
Tel: 058810-33255 Fax: 058810-33256
Email: muzaffarabad@pta.gov.pk


Apart from this, spread the word where ever you have an online presence via email, blogs, forums, etc so that the maximum number of Pakistanis get to know about this. Wired Pakistan, a Pakistani Tech Forum is currently hosting a discussion on this topic in this thread.

I urge you, the reader, to not let a regulatory body [PTA] which is supposed to protect consumer interest, but has regularly failed to do so, force its will on 160 million population of Pakistan!




Asad  Technology 
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Comments made

Say thanks to your darling dictator
22/02 21:43:41
@ Adnan:

You are still rotating in your fantasy world.

Not everything wrong in Pakistan is Musharraf's fault, just like everything wrong with the world is not America's fault.

It seems to me that those supporting the theory about rigging videos on YouTube are desperately grasping on straws to blame it on the old government yet again. Such blind blaming does not reflects well on the person airing such baseless opinions.

Please grow out of your knee-jerk 'dictator-clad' thinking.
22/02 22:22:46
"Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (http://www.pta.gov.pk" rel="nofollow">http://www.pta.gov.pk) has directed all ISPs of the country to block access to 22/02 22:41:09
@ Alamode:

Umm... what was that?
22/02 23:39:18
Did I read “blasphemous” material? Is THAT the reason given??? What a load of crap. Like banning YouTube is top of the agenda for practicing Muslims - as if our government really gives a s^*t about Islam - there’s more pro-Islam content on YouTube then anywhere else on the web. This is all very convenient. Censorship and information control on the pretext of protecting the Religion of God. Sickening. They think the people are stupid and can’t see through their lies. Sorry for the rant but I’m truly disgusted at their hypocrisy and cowardice.
23/02 16:56:56
This is so unfair!!! PTA blocks our blogs without any reason and now it has blocked YouTube.
24/02 00:48:18
This is madness! Down with censorship PTA!
24/02 15:11:19
The above mentioned video in the post has been removed "due to terms of use violation."

You can also confirm this via: http://www.sticklive.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.sticklive.com or 24/02 17:44:41
SIR AK NUMBER JO MUJE KAFI DAIR SE DISTURB KAR RAHA HA APE PLZ US KO BUND KAR DAIN.WO NO YA HA 03086802110.THANKS
11/12 14:00:04
please close the youtube in pakistan. beacuse they show the pictures of propit MUHAMMAD (P.B.U.H). the name given tio those pictures are pictures of muhammad or shape of muhammad so plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
20/05 09:21:54
SALAM all
i think its out utmost duty not to use anything which is against our prophet
there was one time that we don't have you-tube and face-book and we lived in that era as well without any problem
we Pakistanis are much talented then them and we can make our own sites which resembles them and as far as the blogs are concerned u can make your blog anywhere else
i request you people not to use them anymore its time to wake up
21/05 23:23:00
well done pta. just 4 ban the facebook. our prophet(P.B.U.H) is more important than facebook or youtube.
22/05 02:27:42
isla par kafiron ka ak aur hamla...facebook par QURAN-E- PAK KO JALANY KA DIN MANAYA JARAHA HY...check on http://www.facebook.com/pages/everybody-burn-QURAN-day/128549677181291?v=wall..piz pta do some thing....its humle request of all muslim..faceook must be permenantly blocked......
20/08 09:09:41
salam to all
plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz close the youtube in pakistan bcoz youtube upload all pic against our prophet BYE THE NAME OF MORAL CARTOON if u search in youtube moral catoon u will find all fake pic plzzzzzzzzz closed youtube in pakistan
03/12 16:50:20
salam to all
plzzzzzz youtube ko pakista mai blocked karden kio k youtube ny saray khustahana images of prophet(p.B.U.H)KI YOTUBE PER UPLOAD KARDI hain agr hume youtube per
moral cartoon)
lekh kar search karen to sab pictures show ho jati hai plzzz closed youtube in pakistan,
03/12 16:56:10
Aslam0Alaikum..all
meri apni gov say humble request hai k wo shan e Rasool mai gustakhi krny or Quran e Pak ko jalany walon k khilaf koi action lay .. nahi tou phir ALLAH ki tarf say azab k liy tiyar rhain or khulam khullah elan kr dain k hum aik bgairat qoum hai jo apny Nabi (saww) ki namoos k liy kuch nhi kr sktay...
25/03 16:56:24
assalam o alaikum sir mera nam usman ahi mai lahoresay hu or mera mob chorey ho gaya ahi mare ap say request ahi k ap us ko plz plz block kar de model nokia 2220 slide or imei no 354314048672280 ye hai color black ahi sir ye mera 2 sra num hai conntect me 03236262853 thank u
15/04 19:34:38
Bilal ahmed khan.

sir mera naam bilal hai or mai karachi se hn meri aap se ye request hai k meri ek kazan hai jis ki video youtube pe just karachi university couple mai hai or max003ish k account mai upload hai meri aap se request hai k jitni jaldi ho sky usy del krden.
Thank u.
11/06 13:12:36
Is numbes se sms nhe jarhe plz woh to on kar de
09/05 11:02:45
hats off PTA... we appreciate blocking of Youtube..
17/09 21:45:24
I advise PTA officels that rather they close youtube, they should close all the servers in pakistan with immediate effect which leads to those webs which contains (AnosBillah) those vedios, cartoons & etc who are against ALLAH ALMIGHTY, Holly Prophit(P.B.U.H.), SAHABAH-A- KARAM and all the webs which are based on Toheen _A_ ISLAM and other religions.
18/09 01:34:48
hello sir my name is usman and thnx for PTA youtube blocking
http://torrentz.eu/search?f=innocence+of+mus
uper jo me ne link send kia h u ko b jld az jald block kia jay
22/09 14:49:11
torrentz.
is site ko b block kia jay
22/09 14:51:03
Plz block Dailymotion
That pathetic Video :@ :@ still there plz
06/10 02:43:12
i can use youtube in pakistan they r donkies who block this by using any ip hider software
08/10 09:32:43
When will be open youtube?
07/12 21:29:42
THANKS FOR BLOKING YOUTUBE
22/12 15:59:15
Sir how are u or mri youtube ko on kr den plz i request u plz plz
23/12 21:19:56
Sir how are u or mri youtube ko on kr den plz i request u plz plz
23/12 21:23:26
Sir plz mri youtube website on kr den plz
23/12 21:31:50
I am haseeb tariq.plz open youtube
10/01 19:29:40

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