Monday, Jan 23, 2012    Text size: 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Porn sites are officially banned in Pakistan.

In what the local media is calling a bold move and “annoyance to society,” the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has given ISPs an initial list of 1,000 restricted websites that could grow to more than 170,000.

Users visiting the blocked sites are redirected to an error message page that says, “This page is blocked due to restrictions enforced by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).”

According to News Pakistan, the PTA’s action may have been prompted by a “mystery man” hacker, known as “Zombie_Ksa,” who hacked the regulator’s website in October telling it to block porn sites in the country.

He told PTA Chairman, Dr. Muhammad Yaseen, “Ask yourself why Pakistan Telecommunication Authority is victim of ZombiE_KsA? Baby I’m here to tell this **** world that we are Pakistan, not Pornistan…and Sir I need your help. Since you have powerful balls and I request you to take action to ban porn sites in Pakistan. Read it again I request you to BAN Pornographic sites in Pakistan.”

In September, the hacker cracked the country’s Supreme Court’s website and posted the message: “Supreme Court of Pakistan is in untalented hands,” and told the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, “I am here to request you to go out and help the poor, needy and hungry. They don’t have money to eat one-time meal, they don’t have clothes to wear, and they don’t have accommodation…sitting in your royal chair won’t make any changes to our Pakistan.”

Authorities believe Ksa is really Jawad Ehsan, aka Hamza, the founder of a Pakistani group of hackers calling themselves PAKBUGS.

The report said that in 2010, Fox News reported Pakistan as one of the top ranked countries in terms of porn-related search requests, although some feel the report was western propaganda.

Critics are calling the ban a “slap in the face" and damages Pakistan’s image.

Last November, the PTA handed down a ban on sexting that included more than 1,600 words and phrases it deemed obscene and gave carriers seven days to comply or face legal action.

The banned words that needed to be filtered included indecent language, expletives, and swear words published in English and the native Urdu language.