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Published Date: March 12, 2012

Tags: censorship, extremist, Internet, Pakistan, religion

HUMAN rights activists have attacked Pakistans move to censor the internet, saying it is playing into the hands of extremists.

This is a horrible prospect we protested against crackdowns on news channels during past dictatorships and this democratic government is no different, said Saeda Deep, founder of the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies which is presently running an online petition against the move.

Restricting access to information and social media discussions will favor the agendas of extremists. Hackers will find access as always; government should concentrate [on] providing the poor with the basic necessities of life, she said.

The outcry comes after the government announced it wanted internet companies to introduce a nationwide filtering system and restrict access to 50 million web addresses. The aim is to block adult and blasphemous content.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority says it has already blocked 13,000 porn sites, and thousands of websites with alleged blasphemous content deemed offensive to Islam, as well as hundreds of sites and blogs run by Baloch separatists.

Report from ucanews.com

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Pakistan activists criticize internet censorship