Pakistan's democratic government follows China's suit in attempting to curb free speech on the Internet

I believe that president Zardari has reached the end of his tether watching commoners in Pakistan having a laugh at his expense. His recent outburst asking his minions who were not keen to listen to his speech to "Shut up" was in full media glare and has been one of the most watched short video clips on You Tube. Like many other dumb moves to censor free speech the government decided to use the heavy handed approach and censor You Tube itself. Apparently the president has had enough.

Huma Imtiaz reported yesterday that

"About 90 minutes ago, YouTube suddenly got blocked in Karachi – with the message “This site is restricted” popping up instead. PTCL expressed ignorance about the ban, whereas representatives of various ISPs’ helplines said that Pakistan Telecommunication Authority had banned YouTube. At around 9:30 PM PST, YouTube came back, but now one cannot access the video of Zardari saying shut up to a crowd that surfaced recently on the website. Since its a Sunday, PTA representatives are unavailable. This move comes just when one thinks the Government of Pakistan cannot outdo themselves. What’s next, a ban on free speech?"

"Democratic" government in Pakistan keeps on forgetting that despite all its bearded problems Pakistan is still far from a closed society like China or Iran where the authorities can get away with controlling public voices through violence, state oppression or sheer economic might (like Google caved in against Chinese state control). China and Iran boast one of the most thriving blogger communities simply because repressions rebels. Tyrants (and Zaradari is a wannabe) must fear rebels who can talk and are listened to.

And if you missed the video in question, here it is



alongwith a worthy remix.