YouTube to be unblocked within 48 hours: PTA

Sohail Iqbal Bhatti Irfan Haider Published January 18, 2016

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information Technology on Monday issued a directive to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to restore YouTube service within 48 hours.

The Ministry of Information Technology Spokesman Sagheer Anwar Wattoo and PTA officials confirmed that the directive has been issued.

The service is still not accessible on some internet service providers without the use of a secure (https) protocol or VPN/proxy, which means the website remains blocked for the time being.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited welcomed the move by posting a photo to its official Facebook page:

PTA officials said all arrangements for unblocking YouTube are complete and all standard operating procedures have been checked. The officials claimed all blasphemous content had been blocked on the localised version of YouTube.

The IT ministry, PTA, Ministry of Religious Affairs and other agencies who were part of a committee formed to tackle the issue were informed that the content has been removed along with Google's cooperation.

PTA Spokesman Khurram Mehran earlier confirmed the Google had launched a localised version of YouTube in Pakistan which did not feature any of the controversial content.

In reply to a Supreme Court petition on the YouTube ban, PTA said that Google and PTA had both verified that this version of the website does not contain any known copies of the offending material.

If any copy appears on the website in the future, Google has "provided an online web process through which requests for blocking access [to] the offending material can be made by PTA to Google directly and Google/YouTube will accordingly restrict access to the said offending material for users within Pakistan", the PTA said.

The PTA acknowledged that Google has made it possible for the Pakistani government to ask for the removal of objectionable videos from YouTube.

YouTube was initially blocked in Pakistan on September 18, 2012, after violent protests broke out all over the country in reaction to a blasphemous film uploaded on the website’s servers that outraged Muslims all across the world.

The ban was lifted in early 2013, but only lasted for a few hours after which the website was again officially inaccessible to Pakistani users.

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Abu Hamza

Jan 18, 2016 02:47pm

Great News. I hope gov will not change its mind if video highlighting incompetencies start apearing.

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Pakistan Zindabad

Jan 18, 2016 02:48pm

Benefit of "You-tube" might be unknown or can be counted on fingers. But disasters are countless.

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Faisal

Jan 18, 2016 02:49pm

Now no one can stop Pakistan from progressing, finally we are rising and rising.

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Jan 18, 2016 02:51pm

Finally which could have been done much before. But its never late if done

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Khyber Watch

Jan 18, 2016 03:04pm

Thank goodness, my neice (3 yrs old) can now learn nursery ryhmes before she starts school next year.

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Muhammad Arshad

Jan 18, 2016 03:05pm

Great News

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Muhammad Irfan

Jan 18, 2016 03:05pm

Highly incompetent 'professionals' are sitting in IT Ministry...I am using YouTube constantly by using Browsec application in google chrome extension...!!!

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rehan

Jan 18, 2016 03:05pm

I don't think i missed Youtube at all. Quite a waste of time, really.

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Muhammad Irfan

Jan 18, 2016 03:06pm

Highly incompetent 'professionals' are sitting in IT Ministry...I am using YouTube constantly by using Browsec application in google chrome extension...block the google as well...if you can...!!!

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zibbi

Jan 18, 2016 03:09pm

It will be hblocked again pretty soon. Someone will post video of govt screwup and pta will ban it citing some objectionbable content. It will be shortlived

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ABC

Jan 18, 2016 03:20pm

Great!!! Congrats Pakistan. Leaders made a good decision.....

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Muhammad Irfan

Jan 18, 2016 03:39pm

@Pakistan Zindabad ...name only one 'Disaster'...bro, social media & YouTube like a knife/scissor in our home...either use it sensibly or cut your own hand...last night I watched Noon Meem Rashid's interview on it...and really enjoyed...!!!

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ahmad

Jan 18, 2016 03:40pm

ooh was You tube really banned? I never had any problem accessing it. Good news though.

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Babbu Gosha

Jan 18, 2016 03:41pm

as if it was ever inaccessible for all these years... :P

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Faisal

Jan 18, 2016 03:44pm

Mark my words "Pakistan is next big thing"

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Sami Qureshi

Jan 18, 2016 03:46pm

What the joke with the nation ! This sort of announcement from PTA is humiliating as well. First of all they have to unblock the Youtube and then to inform the users that they have, at last, convinced the Government to unblock it, if played any positive role. PTA is actually making a fuss out of the game for a long time.

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Danial Asif

Jan 18, 2016 03:54pm

@Muhammad Irfan they're not highly incompetent. Maybe you're just over competent?

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Maajid

Jan 18, 2016 03:54pm

The unblocking of Youtube is largely a symbolic policy decision; it has very little to do with people actually not being able to access it.

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Muhammad Irfan

Jan 18, 2016 04:00pm

@Danial Asif ...oh really...I think you are in PTA....????????

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Human

Jan 18, 2016 04:09pm

@Muhammad Irfan I've been using it through the default android application

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The Wrong Wong

Jan 18, 2016 04:36pm

@Pakistan Zindabad Why of course ! you are so right !! what you can not see, you can not know and that is a great benefit !!! isn't it...

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The Wisdom cracker

Jan 18, 2016 04:39pm

@Faisal Ahau,,so all that Pakistan needed was Youtube..?

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Muhammad Bilal

Jan 18, 2016 05:10pm

Good Decision by Government. Thanks Ministry of IT & PTA.

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Mian Amir Hakim

Jan 18, 2016 05:37pm

It is a welcoming step. It is more heartening to know that unfavorable materials can now be removed from the site. The hard stand taken by the courts and the government indeed compelled the IT giants to revise their policy. Before they were adamant that no offending material would ever be removed. Such big companies have dual standards. Take the example of China where they have to operate within certain limits.

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Hassan

Jan 18, 2016 05:52pm

YouTube is already unblocked since 2 month

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Mr.Nice

Jan 18, 2016 05:57pm

@Pakistan Zindabad well benefits are countless! it is not other way around!

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faryal

Jan 18, 2016 06:05pm

awsome

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Cyrus

Jan 18, 2016 06:30pm

@rehan .... It can be a waste of time.

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Philosopher (from Japan)

Jan 18, 2016 06:45pm

Please write in CV this is an achievement being IT minister. All credit goes to pm NS cm SS and FM ishaq dar whose cooperation provide me this opportunity to unblock YouTube.

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Cyrus

Jan 18, 2016 06:54pm

@Muhammad Irfan .... He is right you know. The benefit of YouTube is unknown to many people.

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Cyrus

Jan 18, 2016 07:02pm

@Human .... The Google extension allows computer interface with android phones. It's the same.

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BILAL Bilo

Jan 18, 2016 07:07pm

Great move,

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rahul

Jan 18, 2016 07:08pm

@Pakistan Zindabad Depends on people and society.... How they take things...

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Akash

Jan 18, 2016 07:35pm

There is no bigger university than YouTube. if someone is ugly than better accept it rather than banning a channel telling you the truth.

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Agha Ata

Jan 18, 2016 07:43pm

I hope it happens; you never know. I also hope it remains open forever; you never know!

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Agha Ata

Jan 18, 2016 07:49pm

@Akash I agree with you 100%.

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Punjabi

Jan 18, 2016 07:51pm

Weldone Anusha Rehman

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ABDUL MUQTADIR

Jan 18, 2016 08:00pm

It was very unfortunate that the YouTube was banned. YouTube has material on learning Do yourself work, Entertainment Scientific and other literature that the public was kept from using by this ban.

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A SAMI

Jan 18, 2016 08:20pm

It's is already unblock. I've been using it for a month now on PTCL and Nayatel.

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Saad

Jan 18, 2016 08:40pm

I've seen quite a lot of people happy that YouTube has agreed to filter out 'inappropriate' content. While I think it's a poor decision on their part as well, given that their stance in other countries has always been against internet censorship. To the people who are jubilant that 'blasphemous'content has been banned, don't cry foul when politically motivated content is also filtered by the government. You can't pick and choose what counts as freedom of speech and what doesn't; no matter how bitter and uncomfortable it is.

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shahram

Jan 18, 2016 09:08pm

Yayyyyyyyy :)

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Jawad

Jan 18, 2016 09:52pm

Good job

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Silicon Valley bangalore

Jan 19, 2016 01:15am

Congrats Pakistan :)

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Kamil Gani

Jan 19, 2016 01:45am

@Khyber Watch You don't necessarily need to have youtube to teach your child nursery rhymes

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voice

Jan 19, 2016 01:47am

@Pakistan Zindabad I dont know how do you look at youtube. For me the benfits of youtube is countless and disaster is none. This is the one of reason behind earning my living.

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Django

Jan 19, 2016 02:00am

Unblocked! Pakistan continuously moving into right direction.

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Abdul Hakim

Jan 19, 2016 02:50am

It is a historical fact that censorship of any kind does not work. If (supposed) blasphemy or nudity is of concern there is more than enough material on the internet other than Youtube. If you find something against your belief or culture or religion, do not watch it or click on it. Simple. The only reason censorship exists in countries like Pakistan is because of inept governments who are trying to hide their own mis-deeds.

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Muheeb

Jan 19, 2016 03:45am

I thought it was already unblocked.hehe

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Gawal Mandi Ya

Jan 19, 2016 05:08am

I never did figure out how we can talk about democracy and yet take away the right to watch whatever we please,how does that affect anyone else what I watch in the comfort of my own home? Does the government not have bigger issues to deal with? Like corruption,like the government hand picking their boys to run two corporations at the same time,miles apart in different cities.

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