Youtube Ban

A lawmaker, on 22nd August 2013, made an official plea to the government to uplift the ban on YouTube, sources claimed. The name has been kept anonymous and it cannot be termed as the first incident of this kind.

After a sporadic stretch of banning YouTube on and off, government finally banned the website on September 17 2012 which is in effect till date. The ban will be one year old next month, unless some actions are taken regarding the matter.


Lahore High Court (LHC) had summoned Information Minister, on August 7, 2013, to explain the Government’s stance regarding ban on YouTube but the minister never appeared in the court.

“Government should keep in mind that there is no effective way to block any information on the Internet,” Justice Mansoor Ali Shah commented on the ban on YouTube.

Fareiha Aziz, Director of the NGO ‘Bolo Bhi’, presented significant arguments, in her statement submitted to the court this month. According to Aziz, the total controversial content, on YouTube, is less than 0.16% of the educational and religious content viewed actively on the website. 

Aziz added that many Pakistani universities maintain an active channel on YouTube where they upload educational videos beneficial for many. The cumulative hits, on the pages of six Pakistani universities, exceeded a count of 13 million views. 

With the rapid development this month on the issue, the chances of Pakistani Internet users ever watching YouTube back online are getting brighter by day.