Block of YouTube Over Anti-Islamic Video Lifted in Pakistan

February 27, 2008

Author: Stephen Graham

Source: The Buffalo News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.buffalonews.com/nationalworld/international/story/286064.html

Pakistan’s telecommunications regulator said Tuesday that it had lifted restrictions imposed on YouTube over an anti-Islamic video clip but rejected blame for a cut in access to the Web site in many countries over the weekend.

The authority told Pakistani Internet service providers to restore access to the site on Tuesday afternoon after the removal of a video featuring a Dutch lawmaker who has said he plans to release a movie portraying Islam as fascist and prone to inciting violence against women and homosexuals.

Officials here have described the YouTube clip as “very blasphemous” and warned that it could fan religious fanaticism and hatred of the West in Pakistan, where the government already faces a growing Islamic insurgency.