Dawn terms PTA ban on Khabaristan Times 'unwarranted, ill advised'

 JournalismPakistan.com |  Published: 4 February 2017

Dawn condemns the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's ban on Khabaristan Times as unjustified. The editorial stresses the importance of defending satirical content and calls for a reversal of the ban.

Summary

ISLAMABAD – Dawn on Saturday termed Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s decision to block the satirical website Khabaristan Times as “unwarranted and ill advised”.

In an editorial the paper said the knowledgeable website that poked fun at state and society in equal measure, is a project worth admiring – and vigorously defending when it comes under attack by a paranoid state.

The paper said PTA’s action was an assault on a thoroughly democratic tradition — and probably illegal.

No official notification was sent to the website’s publishers and they were not given a chance to respond to the allegations against them, Dawn pointed out.

The PTA says the action was taken “because of so-called, unspecified objectionable content in Khabaristan Times”.

The editorial called for an immediate reversal of the ban and said the PTA must be forced to disclose the complainants if they are state agencies, as well as explain the basis for taking such an extreme step.