Pak Senate panel resolution seeks to lift Youtube ban

In a minor victory to those fighting for unblocking YouTube in Pakistan, a Senate panel today approved a resolution that seeks to open up the popular video-sharing website in the country.
The standing committee on Human Rights noted that Pakistan was the only Muslim country where this facility has been denied to the public.
The world's largest videos sharing website remains banned in Pakistan since September 17, 2012 when then Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had ordered the Information Ministry to block it.
The ban was imposed after YouTube refused to heed to the Pakistan government's request to remove 'Innocence of the Muslims', a film that was considered blasphemous and sparked violence in many Muslim countries across the world, from the website.

A meeting of the committee was headed by its chairman Afrasiab Khattak, and attended by its members and the officials of the ministry of human rights.
The members of the committee expressed their concerns regarding the long-running ban on Youtube.

The committee chairman said that there is no advantage of the ban while people can still access restricted videos from other websites.
Members of the committee were of the view that an entire library cannot be shut because of some objectionable content.
Even if the resolution is passed in the Senate, it will not be binding to the government.
A case is already on in the Lahore High Court against the ban.