The government of Pakistan threatened unspecified “legal action” against Wikipedia and Google for featuring content about Ahmadi Muslims.
The government of Pakistan threatened unspecified “legal action” against Wikipedia and Google this weekend for featuring content about Ahmadi Muslims — considered “impostor” Muslims by radical Islamists — and for featuring cartoons of Muhammad in search results.
Pakistan is an Islamic country currently led by Islamist Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan has repeatedly advocated for a global law against blasphemy, enforced through the United Nations, and has dismissed freedom of expression as a valid reason not to persecute those who offend any Muslim anywhere. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, where it has spearheaded anti-“blasphemy” initiatives.
Blasphemy against Muhammad is punishable by death according to Pakistan’s legal code.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which oversees the management and censorship of all mass media, published letters it allegedly sent to Google and Wikipedia on Friday ordering them to remove content about the Ahmadiyya community and “deceitful information” about Islam.
“PTA has been receiving complaints regarding misleading search results associated with ‘Present Khalifa of Islam’ and unauthentic version [sic] of Holy Quran uploaded by Ahmadiyya Community on Google Play Store,” the letter to Google read. “Being a matter of very serious nature [sic], PTA has approached Google Inc. with the directions to immediately remove the unlawful content.”
“Complaints were also received regarding hosting of caricatures of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and dissemination of misleading, wrong, deceptive, and deceitful information through articles published on Wikipedia portraying Mirza Masroor Ahmad as a Muslim,” the statement from the PTA continued. “After extensive communication on the matter, Wikipedia has been finally served with the notice to remove the sacrilegious content to avoid any legal action.”
Originally Published at Breitbart