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Heart can skip beat for a while.
Memories can be kept in a file
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When your NAME comes on my Mobile
Archive for May, 2010
Friends Are Like Street Light
Friends are like street lights,
Along the road, they don’t
make the distance any shorter
but they light up the path
&
make the walk worthwhile.
Thanks for being my friend.
U R in My Heart
Fish said to water
: you wont see my tears,
because I am in the water.
Water replied: But, I can feel your
tears because you are in my heart.
That’s FRIENSHIP
Pakistani Court Orders Facebook Blocked in Prophet Row
A court in Pakistan has ordered the authorities temporarily to block the Facebook social networking site.
The order came when a petition was filed after the site held a competition featuring caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
The petition, filed by a lawyers’ group called the Islamic Lawyers’ Movement, said the contest was “blasphemous”.
A message on the competition’s information page said it was not “trying to slander the average Muslim”.
“We simply want to show the extremists that threaten to harm people because of their Muhammad depictions that we’re not afraid of them,” a statement on the “Everybody Draw Muhammed Day” said.
“They can’t take away our right to freedom of speech by trying to scare us into silence.”
The page in question contains caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and characters from other religions, including Hinduism and Christianity, as well as comments both critical and supportive of Islam.
‘Blasphemous’
Publications of similar cartoons in Danish newspapers in 2005 sparked angry protests in Muslim countries – five people were killed in Pakistan.
Already the Pakistani press has reported protests against Facebook on Wednesday by journalists outside parliament in Islamabad, while various Islamic parties are also reported to be organising demonstrations.
Correspondents say that the internet is uncensored in Pakistan but the government monitors content by routing all traffic through a central exchange.
Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court ordered the department of communications to block the website until 31 May, and to submit a written reply to the petition by that date.
An official told the court that parts of the website that were holding the competition had been blocked, reports the BBC Urdu service’s Abdul Haq in Lahore.
But the petitioner said a partial blockade of a website was not possible and that the entire link had to be blocked.
The lawyers’ group says Pakistan is an Islamic country and its laws do not allow activities that are “un-Islamic” or “blasphemous”.
The judge also directed Pakistan’s foreign ministry to raise the issue at international level.
In the past, Pakistan has often blocked access to pornographic sites and sites with anti-Islamic content.
It has deemed such material as offensive to the political and security establishment of the country, says the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad.
In 2007, the government banned the YouTube site, allegedly to block material offensive to the government of Pervez Musharraf.
The action led to widespread disruption of access to the site for several hours. The ban was later lifted.
Read a selection of comments from Pakistan:
I don’t think that the court has made the right decision. Now searching on Facebook, I don’t see any such group! I am not sure if the court was given the true story with proper proof, or if so, it should be made public too! Having said that, Facebook admins should make sure that such anti-Muslim zealots who plan to provoke such agitation should be banned and such utterly bizarre stuff shouldn’t even taken place in the name of any competition! It’s ridiculous.
Azeem, Lahore
I am a regular user of Facebook. The court has made the right decision. If this thing continues, the authorities should ban Facebook permanently. This is the first time after 9/11 that any institution in Pakistan has given a kind hearing to the voice of the public. Further, if these actions persist, the government should end friendly and diplomatic ties with any country that supports blasphemous acts like this.
Asad Fareed, Rawalpindi
No. It is a wrong decision. Ban does not do anything. Are you going to ban eveything on the internet that inflames someone’s sensibilities? Stupid! If someone is inflamed and feels hurt, then do not go to that website.
Aurangzeb Haneef, Karachi
Yes, I do use Facebook regulary. The court has certainly made the right decision and we strongly support it. People should respect each other’s beliefs and exhibit tolerance. We, as muslims, hold nothing dearer than our Holy Prophet and such a disrespectful, blasphemous act would not be ignored or tolerated!
Rabia Liaqut, Lahore
I feel that the court should not have blocked facebook and instead let Pakistani muslims use the website as a forum to protest what they felt was wrong and blasphemous. However, I do believe that Facebook should monitor content published on the website and control the formation of potentially volatile groups that could be offensive to certain religions. It is a commonly known fact that muslims feel strongly about pictorial depictions of prophet Mohammad and Allah (God) and, therefore, people should be respectful of that instead of trying to irk muslims and create controversies just to prove that ‘muslims’ in general are a fundamentalist and unreasonable people who do not believe in freedom of speech.
Ansareen, Karachi
It’s great action. Many Pakistanies have already left the site. We are happy because we love our Prophet Muhammad more than Facebook.
Aqeel Shuja, Sialkot
Pakistan Blocks Access to YouTube in Internet Crackdown
Many Pakistanis are angry at the 'Draw Muhammad' competition
Pakistan has blocked the popular video sharing website YouTube because of its “growing sacrilegious content”.
Access to the social network Facebook has also been barred as part of a crackdown on websites seen to be hosting un-Islamic content.
On Wednesday a Pakistani court ordered Facebook to be blocked because of a page inviting people to draw images of the Prophet Muhammad.
Some Wikipedia pages are also now being restricted, latest reports say.
Correspondents say it remains to be seen how successful the new bans will be in Pakistan and whether citizens find a way round them.
YouTube says it is “looking into the matter and working to ensure that the service is restored as soon as possible”. The site was briefly blocked in Pakistan in 2008 – ostensibly for carrying material deemed offensive to Muslims
There have been protests in several Pakistani cities against the Facebook competition.
‘Derogatory material’
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority said it had ordered internet service providers to “completely shut down” YouTube and prevent Facebook from being viewed within Pakistan.
It said the move came only after “all possible avenues” within its jurisdiction had been used.
“Before shutting down (YouTube), we did try just to block particular URLs or links, and access to 450 links on the internet were stopped,” said PTA spokesman Khurram Ali Mehran.
“But the blasphemous content kept appearing so we ordered a total shut down.”
One of the links blocked is to a BBC News website article about Pakistani soldiers apparently beating Taliban suspects in a video posted on Facebook.
A YouTube spokesperson said: “YouTube offers citizens the world over a vital window on cultures and societies and we believe people should not be denied access to information via video.
“Because YouTube is a platform for free expression of all sorts, we take great care when we enforce our policies. Content that violates our guidelines is removed as soon as we become aware of it.”
The controversy began with the Facebook feature called “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day”. Depictions of the Prophet are forbidden in Islam.
A message on the item’s information page said it was not “trying to slander the average Muslim”.
“We simply want to show the extremists that threaten to harm people because of their Muhammad depictions that we’re not afraid of them.”
The page contains drawings and caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and characters from other religions, including Hinduism and Christianity.
“Such malicious and insulting attacks hurt the sentiments of Muslims around the world and cannot be accepted under the garb of freedom of expression,” Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said about the page.
Facebook said in a statement that it would take action if any content “becomes an attack on anyone, including Muslim people”, but that in this case its policies were not violated.
“Facebook values free speech and enables people to express their feelings about a multitude of topics, even some that others may find distasteful or ignorant,” the statement said.
A hotline has been set up in Pakistan, asking members of the public to phone in if they see offensive material anywhere.
Islamic parties say they are planning nationwide protests in Pakistan.
Five people were killed in the country in 2006 during violent demonstrations following publication of Muhammad cartoons in a Danish newspaper.
BBC website readers have been telling us what they think of the ban. Here is a selection of their comments.
I am a university student and use Facebook and Youtube as a way of interacting and staying in touch with friends. But all students are willing to give up this source of entertainment for the sake of principles.
Zahara Sohail Khan from Lahore, Pakistan
The strict policies of Facebook regarding racism and harassment are only for individual users. Now a page on Facebook is harassing billions of Muslims world-over and Facebook’s management is not bothered. What hypocrisy.
Maroof from Lahore, Pakistan
I am a Muslim girl, just a normal student. When my religion is insulted, it is me who is insulted. I can live without Facebook but I definitely cannot live in humiliation. I am with my country on this and if Facebook does not take action on this, then ban or no ban, I would never go back to it anyway.
Maham Tanveer from Rawalpindi, Pakistan
As a Muslim growing up in America, I am frustrated that neither side takes the time to understand the other. For Muslims, directly insulting the sacred is beyond petty ‘freedom of speech’ privileges we mortals have. In the West, people think arrogantly that they are free to say anything without limits whatsoever, no matter how ridiculous or insulting.
Qureshi from Florida, USA
I am now living in Karachi, Pakistan, and I never thought I’d have to endure blocks on websites ever again after I moved from Saudi Arabia. Even though I have found a way to access blocked websites, I can’t believe the government would put a ban on them.
Omar from Saudi Arabia
I did use Youtube and Facebook but I have removed my accounts from both sites and have communicated this to all my family and friends who have been using them.
Hassan Mehmood from Pakistan
This is ridiculous. I find these to be ill-advised measures. Blocking websites in countries does not prevent the content from existing in the first place. I think the Pakistani government should move to ban pornography (which is still easily available) before they ban Facebook and YouTube which are obviously on the better side of human development.
Myra from Karachi, Pakistan
This has been outrageous and infuriating. I feel disconnected from the world, from my friends, and from the easiest modes of expression available today.
Uzma from Lahore, Pakistan
It is not only Facebook and YouTube which have been blocked in Pakistan, but parts of the BBC website too, for example the link given below, many stories about Pakistan and the entire South-East Asia section. In fact, I am forced to use a proxy server just to post this comment. As a Pakistani, I feel very frustrated and angry about this crackdown on the internet and can only hope that this is temporary.
Schyan Zafar from Pakistan
Analysis
Zoe Kleinman
Technology reporter,
BBC News
Countries, companies and even individuals can easily block various websites if they choose. China has a notorious firewall in place to control internet activity and many Western organisations choose to block access to social networks in the office.
In this case, Pakistan will probably have instructed its internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent any pages containing the phrase “youtube.com” in the address from loading on web browsers.
There are various ways of implementing a block and sometimes it can go awry – Pakistan accidentally pulled YouTube offline around the world in 2008 when it tried to implement an internal ban by “hijacking” the youtube.com address in order to re-direct links to a different page.
There are also ways to duck underneath a ban – most commonly by accessing the internet via a “proxy” server based abroad. This can fool an ISP into thinking a computer is actually based in another country and therefore not subject to the ban.
Life is at Its Weakest
Life is at its weakest
When
There’s more
Doubt than trust
But
Life is at its strongest
When you learn
How to trust
In spite of
The doubts …
Pakistan Zindabad
People thinks
war is a Competition
Between
Weapons, People,
Forces or Nation,
But its a Battle of
PRAYERS before ALLAH
between Our Mothers
and
Thier Mothers.
The Question is,
Whose SON will come
back with
Flag in his Hands
and whose SON come
back with
FLAG Cover his Body.
I was told at my Birth that
I dont Belong to my Parents..
My Destiny, My Dreams
Belong Only
to
PAKISTAN.
“PAKISTAN ZINDABAD”
If U Limit Ur Choices
If You Limit Your
Choices Only to Wh8
Seems Possible Or
Reasonable,
You Disconnect
Yourself From Wh8 You
Truly Want And All That
Is Left A
Compromise
The Mind is Like a Clock
The mind is like a clock
That is constantly running down …
It has to be wound
Up daily with good thoughts …
Don’t go through life,
Grow through life
Life Never Leaves U Empty
Life never leaves u empty
It always replaces
Everything u lost
If it asks u to put
Something down,
It’s because
It wants u to
Pick up something better