US public radio\u00a0Voice of\u00a0America\u00a0(VOA) on Thursday called for\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0to lift a block on two of its websites, in\u00a0Urdu\u00a0and Pashto, as concerns grow over freedom of speech in the country.<\/p>\n

“In the interest of press freedom,\u00a0VOA\u00a0calls upon those responsible for blocking our content to immediately remove these constraints,” said Amanda Bennett, the director of VOA, in a statement to AFP.<\/p>\n

“Any attempt to block our websites deprives\u00a0Urdu\u00a0and\u00a0Pashto\u00a0speakers in the region access to a trusted\u00a0news\u00a0source,” she continued, adding that the organisation was “troubled” by the block.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0VOA\u00a0Urdu\u00a0website has been partially or fully blocked since early December and the site for\u00a0VOA\u00a0Deewa, the\u00a0Pashto\u00a0language service, since late October, she said.<\/p>\n

The websites have been irregularly accessible in\u00a0Islamabad\u00a0in recent days. Pakistani\u00a0information minister\u00a0Fawad Chaudhry\u00a0told VOA the block was in place due to “false and prejudiced reporting”.<\/p>\n

“The stories they were doing were only projecting a particular narrative without any impartial view,” he said, according to a story published by VOA on its\u00a0English language site.<\/p>\n

“There are many things happening in our country and most are positive.”<\/p>\n

In the article VOA blamed the penalty on its coverage of the\u00a0Pashtun Protection Movement\u00a0(PTM), a civil rights group which has rattled the powerful\u00a0Pakistani military\u00a0with its claims of army abuses and accusations of ties to the Afghan\u00a0Taliban.<\/p>\n

Recently, the military warned the PTM that it will use force against them if they “cross the line”. Coverage of the group in\u00a0local mainstream media\u00a0is muted.<\/p>\n

There have been growing concerns about what is seen as a clampdown on media in\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0in recent months, with a series of high-profile attacks on journalists leading to fears the shadowy military establishment is seeking to shrink the space for dissent and free speech.<\/p>\n

Local media\u00a0have complained about pressure in the run-up to a\u00a0general election\u00a0in July which resulted in self-censorship tilted towards the eventual victor, cricketer-turned-prime-minister\u00a0Imran Khan.<\/p>\n

In January, Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty’s Pashto-language station — Radio Mashaal, or Torch — was closed for airing content “against the interest of Pakistan”.<\/p>\n

Business Standard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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