Multiple sources on the web and social media indicate that the Facebook fan-page of famous Pakistani rock band ‘Laal’ has been banned in Pakistan. This action was requested by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Facebook investigated the case formally and then banned it in Pakistan.
The Facebook spokeswoman said that
While we never remove this type of content from the site entirely, like most internet services, we may restrict people from accessing it in the countries where it is determined to be illegal
Laal was formed back in 2007 and this band was known for its role as a progressive band. Their Facebook fan-page has more than 400,000 likes. The major discussions on the page were issues ranging from feminism to Pakistan Army’s role in politics.
This fan-page is not alone as some other famous Facebook fan-pages have also been blocked access in Pakistan like ‘Pakistani.meem’ and ‘Taalibansarezalimans’ have also been blocked access in Pakistan.
According to lead guitarist of ‘Laal’ Taimur Rehman
Facebook did not even inform us, I realized when I noticed no activity on our page
Shahzad Ahmad, who is the director of ‘Bytes For All’ organization (an organization for free speech) said that
This is a mass murder of free speech in Pakistan
Yaseer Latif Hamdani who is a lawyer said that
This is a grave mistake by Facebook. Also for the Pakistani government to make such request is illegal and unconstitutional
The agreement between Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Facebook came to limelight last year when Lahore High Court summoned PTA to a case regarding YouTube ban in Pakistan but the terms were not made public.
Strangely when PTA was asked to comment on the issue, a spokesman of PTA, Khurram Ali Mehran said that
We have no agreement with Facebook whatsoever, it’s a pack of lies
He further added
We have not closed the page of Laal, Facebook has its own terms of reference and it closes pages that seem indecent to them
Taimur Rehman said that
If you have progressive or liberal views you will be gunned down or silenced but if you have extremist views and take up arms, Pakistan will give you the status of a stakeholder in power and negotiate with you
Keeping in view the statement issued by Facebook and the statement of PTA, it seems that PTA and government of Pakistan does have something to do with the ban of these fan-pages mentioned above and they are not telling the truth.
