Facebook delegation to visit Pakistan to help with blasphemous content issue

A spokesman for Pakistan's Interior Ministry has said that the Facebook administration has agreed to send a delegation to help the government in its crackdown on blasphemous content on the social media.

According to Radio Pakistan, the spokesman said that the Facebook administration has nominated a focal person for maintaining constant contact with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

The spokesman said that the government has received a written reply from Facebook stating that they are fully aware of Pakistan's concerns over blasphemous content and they are ready to solve the matter with consultation and dialogue.

Earlier, Islamabad has asked Facebook and Twitter to help it identify Pakistanis suspected of blasphemy so that it can prosecute them or pursue their extradition.

Under Pakistan's strict blasphemy laws, anyone found to have insulted Islam or the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) can be sentenced to death.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said Thursday that an official in Pakistan's Washington embassy has approached the two social media companies in an effort to identify Pakistanis, either within the country or abroad, who recently shared material deemed offensive to Islam.