This report is submitted on behalf of the following CSOs:
Audio Visual Center
AURTAZAAD: Women’s Research & Publications
Bright Education Society
Christian Study Centre
CLAAS
CWS-P/A
Dar –ul-Mussarat –Raiwind Diocese
Data Line Service
Diocese of Raiwind – Church of Pakistan
Executive Board of Methodist Church in Pakistan
Films d’Art
Interactive Resource Centre
Justitiaet Pax Netherlands
National Organization for Working Communities
Nritaal
Pakistan Ecumenical Network
Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum
Punjab Lok Rahat
Punjab Lok Sujag
PVDP
The DOER Trust
Freedom of Opinion and Expression
In 2009, the interior ministry through a decree banned all jokes about the president Asif Ali Zardari.
The country’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, announced that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been requested to trace electronically-transmitted jokes which slandered the political leadership of the country under the new Cyber Crimes Act.
In 2009 Pakistan renewed the ban on Baloch political, cultural and musical websites. It is widely believed that the Pakistani authorities have blocked Baloch websites in an attempt to hide gross human rights violations which have been carried out in Balochistan. In May 2010, the Pakistani government shut down Facebook and banned YouTube over its sacrilegious content in what would continue to be a wider internet crackdown. In November 2011, moves towards censoring mobile text traffic were in the pipeline however, this was never followed through. In November 2011, Pakistani cable television operators began blocking the BBC World News. Thus Pakistan’s claim on the freedom of expression remains problematic.
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