Pak Temporarily Bans Facebook till May 31

A Pakistani court has instructed authorities to ban temporarily social networking site Facebook till May 31 over holding of a competition on blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Mohammed as the whole country protests against the website, said media reports.

Acting on a plea moved by the Islamic Lawyers Forum, which sought complete ban on the portal, Justice Ijaz Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court issued the order to block Facebook, reports said.

Besides, the court also issued directive to the foreign ministry to raise the issue of the blasphemous caricatures at the international level, said reports.

The judge also directed the Foreign Secretary to register a protest with the concerned countries, reports said.

He sought a response on the issue from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, said reports.

(Based on internet reports)