Anti-Islam movie YouTube video links blocked in Pakistan

Islamabad, Sep 17: Following the Supreme Court's order Pakistan on Monday, Sep 17 blocked 700 YouTube video links of the anti-Islam movie which criticised Prophet Muhammed.

The apex court earlier had asked the state-owned Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to block links to the movie which triggered anti-US agitation across the world.

According to sources, YouTube earlier had refused to accept PTA's demand of removing objectionable video links as Pakistan government does not have such agreement with YouTube.

After blocking 700 YouTube links, Pakistan government, however, clarified its stand on the issue saying that it was not blocking popular websites YouTube and Facebook, but only anti-Islamic materials have been blocked.

Meanwhile, Google India also has blocked access to an anti-Islam film that has triggered violence in many countries and led to the killing of the US ambassador in Libya.

However, a Google search on the Internet showed that the clips of the film were still available. Responding to a query, the spokesperson said, "In connection with recent events we would like to reiterate that India has always strongly condemned all acts that disparage religious beliefs and hurt religious sentiments."

Earlier the search engine giant Google refused to accept their proposal of removing the controversial anti-Islam movie. White House officials earlier had asked Google to reconsider whether the video had violated YouTube's terms of service. Reacting against US' proposal, Google on Saturday, Sep 15 said, "We've restricted access to it in countries where it is illegal such as India and Indonesia, as well as in Libya and Egypt, given the very sensitive situations in these two countries," and also added, "This approach is entirely consistent with principles we first laid out in 2007."

The movie criticised Prophet Muhammed calling him "fraud" and "philanderer". Movie clips on YouTube ignited anti-Americans protest followed by a deadly violence in Middle-East countries. The protest against the movie and the Americans became fatal when US Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens along with many others was killed in an attack.