Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday “degraded” the services of the expansive online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, in the country claiming that the censorship was on \u201caccount of not blocking\/removing sacrilegious contents\u201d, and warned of blocking the site if it fails to comply with the directions.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the telecommunication authority said that it had approached and urged Wikipedia to block or remove \u201csacrilegious\u201d contents by issuing a notice under applicable law and court order(s).<\/p>\n

\u201cAn opportunity of hearing was also provided,\u201d the statement added, \u201chowever, the platform neither complied by removing the blasphemous content nor appeared before the Authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result of the \u201cintentional failure\u201d on part of the platform to comply with PTA directions or to appear before it, its services were “degraded” throughout the country for 48 hours.<\/p>\n

Moreover, directions to block\/remove the reported contents had also been given.<\/p>\n

The statement further stated that in the case of non-compliance by Wikipedia to remove the objectionable content, the platform will be blocked within Pakistan for a longer time.<\/p>\n

\u201cRestoration of the services of Wikipedia will be reconsidered subject to blocking\/removal of the reported unlawful contents. PTA is committed to ensuring a safe online experience for all Pakistani citizens according to local laws,\u201d the statement asserted.<\/p>\n

Taking to Twitter, the PTA wrote: \u201cPress Release: PTA has degraded Wikipedia services in the country on account of not blocking\/removing sacrilegious contents.\u201d<\/p>\n