KARACHI: Taimur Rahman, a political activist and member of Pakistani rock band Laal, has said that the band’s Facebook page is now accessible to internet users in Pakistan.
Rahman wrote in a tweet: “Yes its true. PTA banned us in Pakistan. We fought back. And we won. Laal is back in action!”
The page had been inaccessible for Pakistan-based internet users since Wednesday. However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had denied blocking the popular band’s page, saying that Facebook had acted on its own accord and PTA had no role in the matter.
A story published in the The New York Times on Friday quoted Facebook officials as saying that while they resist censorship as much as possible, their leverage was limited in countries like Pakistan “where the government imposes constraints with little public debate”.
Laal is well-reputed among people for its progressive politics. Their Facebook page has seen an increase in number of users frequently joining in for debates on different socio-political subjects.
However, advocates said late on Friday that at least six other Facebook pages which they described as pro-democracy, secular and progressive were also blocked during the week and continue to remain inaccessible, the NYT report said.
These pages include “Taalibansarezalimans” and “Pakistani.meem” and were said to be becoming popular among the people.