Rumors on social media that Facebook will shut down on March 22nd in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - Law enforcing agencies and Pakistan government have decided to block social media site Facebook on 22nd March, rumours said on Wednesday.

According to a report by Monthlybrands, the decision has been taken in the light of recent controversy stirred by the presence of blasphemous pages on Facebook.

The pages - which have been a source of heated debate - were first brought to attention after the alleged disappearings of 'activists' who allegedly ran these pages.

Recently, taking the matter with firm determination, the Islamabad High Court also took notice of the blasphemous content on Facebook which had reportedly managed to stay unnoticed for years.

High Court judge Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had said that he would go to every possible end for the ban on these platforms. He further wanted to find all accused, who have posted blasphemous content online, and have their names enlisted in the Exit Control List.

A petition has also been filed in Islamabad High Court seeking closure of social media site Facebook until blasphemous material and pages are deleted permanently.

The Civil Society – through advocate Tariq Asad – in its petition, says that the social media website should be banned until the government has permanently removed all the blasphemous content from the website.

The petitioner stated in his petition that he had filed a petition against posting of blasphemous material on social media and the court took serious notice of it and directed all the concerned departments including Ministry of Interior, Ministry of I.T., Ministry of Information, PTA, Police, and FIA to take immediate action to close/block the pages.