Wikipedia blocked in the Pakistan due sacrilegious content

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Wikipedia services in the country on Saturday due to the website's failure to comply with the authority's request to remove sacrilegious content.

PTA spokesperson said that PTA issued a notice under applicable law and court orders but received no response from the website. 

Despite providing an opportunity for hearing, Wikipedia neither removed the objectionable content nor appeared before the authority.

As a result, the services were degraded for 48 hours with a direction to remove the reported content.

If the website fails to comply, it will be permanently blocked in the country.

The restoration of services will only be considered if the reported unlawful content is removed.

In response to the current restrictions, the Wikimedia Foundation called on Pakistani authorities to restore access to the website.

“We believe that access to knowledge is a human right. A block of Wikipedia in Pakistan denies the 5th most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository,” it posted on Twitter on Saturday.

“We hope that the Pakistan government joins us in a commitment to knowledge as a human right and restores access to Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects promptly, so that the people of Pakistan can continue to receive and share knowledge with the world.”