SC orders PTA to block blasphemous content

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Monday ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block links to all blasphemous videos including a recently released anti-Islam movie from the internet that has sparked anti-US protests across the Muslim world, Geo News reported.

A senior lawyer raised the matter of the anti-Islam film before a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. On this, the court summoned the chairman of PTA and directed him to block access to all sacrilegious material in Pakistan that has hurt the feelings of Muslims globally.

The court then instructed the chairman to submit the implementation report the same day.

The Chief Justice also directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) to set up ‘standards of modesty’ and submit a reply in this regard within two weeks.

The government had earlier claimed that the PTA and IT ministry had blocked 122 anti-Islamic websites during the past few days.