(PPF/IFEX) – On 30 May 2003, telecommunication authorities in Pakistan blocked the website of the online newspaper “South Asia Tribune” (http://www.satribune.com). The website is currently inaccessible to Internet users in Pakistan. According to a press release issued by “South Asia Tribune”, the site has been blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited’s (PTCL) Pakistan Internet […]
(PPF/IFEX) – On 30 May 2003, telecommunication authorities in Pakistan blocked the website of the online newspaper “South Asia Tribune” (http://www.satribune.com). The website is currently inaccessible to Internet users in Pakistan.
According to a press release issued by “South Asia Tribune”, the site has been blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited’s (PTCL) Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE). PIE provides full circuit international Internet bandwidth to customers throughout Pakistan on the optical fibre link from Karachi to New York.
Only those few Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that are not served by PIE can still provide access to the “South Asia Tribune” site. Most of the ISPs in the country have been affected, thereby effectively cutting off access to “South Asia Tribune” throughout Pakistan.
PTCL established the PIE, a new Internet bandwidth service, in the middle of 2002, providing low-cost service. Most ISPs in Pakistan were quick to get the cheap service. However, once everything was in place and PTCL gained full control of the market, it blocked the Internet telephony websites, depriving Internet subscribers of access to voice chats.
“This is a blatant attack on the freedom of the press, as recently the ‘South Asia Tribune’ had done a number of stories that exposed government policies,” “South Asia Tribune” editor Shaheen Sehbai said. He condemned the government move in a press release issued from Washington, D.C. on 30 May. Sehbai also noted that in 2002, in addition to harassing his family members, the government published an advertisement in Pakistani newspapers asking people not to visit the “South Asia Tribune” website and warned Pakistani media not to reprint stories published on the site.
Sehbai added that arrangements were being made to provide alternate access to the “South Asia Tribune” website until the block is removed.
