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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -
Pakistan ordered local Internet
service providers to block access to the popular Youtube Web
site because of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad that have
outraged many Muslims, an industry official said on Sunday.
The cartoons, published in Danish newspapers in 2005 and
again earlier this month, angered Muslims because of their
depiction of the Prophet Mohammad.
"They asked us to ban it immediately ... and the order says
the ban will continue until further notice," said
Wahaj-us-Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan
Internet Service Providers.
Publication of the cartoons led to protests and rioting in
many Muslim countries, including Pakistan, in which at least 50
people were killed and three Danish embassies attacked.
Several Danish newspapers reprinted one of the cartoons
earlier this month after police in Copenhagen uncovered a plot
by two Tunisians and a Dane of Moroccan origin to kill the
cartoonist, sparking further protests around the world.
Attempts to access Youtube in Islamabad on Sunday were met
with a generic error message saying the site was unavailable.
"Users are quite upset. They're screaming at ISPs which
can't do anything," Siraj said.
"The government has valid reason for that, but they have to
find a better way of doing it. If we continue blocking popular
Web sites, people will stop using the Internet."
(Writing by David Fox)
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