Bangladesh clamps ban on Facebook even as Pakistan restores access
31 May 2010
Saying the court did not intend to block access to information, Justice Ejaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court has directed the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority to restore access to Facebook after he had ordered on 19 May, that the popular social networking site be blocked over "blasphemous" drawings of prophet Mohammed that appeared on the website.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh has blocked access to Facebook as the website featured satirical images of prophet Muhammad and the country's leaders, according to reports.
The ban on the site in Bangladesh comes in the wake of a the ban on the site in Pakistan.
Thousands of people demonstrated against Facebook protesting the blasphemous depiction and demanding the site be blocked over a contest hosted by the site, in which people uploaded irreverent images which hurt the sensitivities of the country's Muslims.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) acting chairman, Hassan Mahmoud Delwar, told media, that some links on the site also contained obnoxious images of the country's leaders including the father of the nation Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, current prime minister Shaikh Hasina, and the leader of the opposition.
Users' access to the site was blocked on Saturday, even as, in a late night development, a group of Dhaka University students took to the streets to protest the government's decision.
