Al Jazeera: Pakistan court sentences three to death for blasphemy. “An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has handed death sentences to three people for social media posts deemed insulting to Prophet Muhammad under the country’s blasphemy laws.”
Deutsche Welle: Pakistan threatens Google, Wikipedia over ‘sacrilegious content’. “The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) called for the immediate removal of ‘unlawful content’ from Google. The regulators pointed to pages that name religious leader Mirza Masroor Ahmad as the current ‘Khalifa’ or leader of Islam, thus contradicting dominant religious beliefs in the country. They also decried an ‘unauthentic version of Holy Quran’ on Google Play Store.”
Voice of America: Pakistan Suspends Senior Hospital Staff After Oxygen Shortage Kills 6 COVID Patients. “Authorities in Pakistan suspended seven senior officers at a government hospital Monday after an inquiry found their ‘criminal negligence’ resulted in the disruption of oxygen supply to the facility, killing six coronavirus patients.”
Clout: PNCA Plans To Build National Database Of Pakistani Films. “…the National Arts Council of Pakistan (PNCA) has decided to launch the National Film Archives, in an effort to preserve the country’s film heritage for future generations. With more than 6,000 films produced so far and an estimated 60 films each year, Pakistan, despite its decline, is still among the top 20 film producers in the world.”
BBC: Pakistan: Covid patients die due to oxygen shortage in Peshawar. “Six coronavirus patients have died in a hospital in Pakistan after oxygen supplies ran too low. Patients’ relatives have described how they begged for help as panic engulfed the government-run hospital in the northern city of Peshawar. A delay in deliveries meant more than 200 patients were left for hours on reduced oxygen.”
BBC: Covid: Pakistan cricket squad quarantined after positive tests in New Zealand. “Six members of Pakistan’s cricket team have tested positive for Covid-19 while on tour in New Zealand. All six have been moved from managed isolation into quarantine and the team’s exemption from social-distancing rules for training has been suspended.”
Gadgets Now: Google, Facebook and Twitter threaten to leave Pakistan over new rules. “Internet and technology companies have threatened to leave Pakistan after the government granted blanket powers to authorities to censor digital content, a move critics say was aimed at curtailing freedom of expression in the conservative Islamic nation.”
Weekly Technology Times (Pakistan): Fawad Asks Opposition To Avoid Public Gatherings To Curb COVID-19. “Chaudhry Fawad Said Opposition Parties Should Cooperate With Government & Avoid Public Gatherings As Corona Cases Are Increasing. All political parties should take a unified step to contain and control the second outbreak of deadly virus, he said while talking to a private news channel.”
ABC News: Pakistan lifts brief ban on Chinese social media app TikTok. “Pakistan’s media regulatory agency said Monday it lifted a temporary ban on the Chinese social media app TikTok ‘with some conditions.’ However, it gave no further details.”
CNN: Pakistan’s TikTok ban is about censorship, not China. “The ban is notable because, unlike countries such as India and the United States that have already gone after TikTok, Pakistan doesn’t have a tense political relationship with China. The two share close economic, diplomatic and military ties, and Pakistan is an integral part of China’s ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.”
SAMAA: Pakistan’s social media rules approved under new title. “All social media companies such as TikTok, Facebook. Instagram and Twitter will have to put up community guidelines for its users. Platforms with more than half a million Pakistani users will have to get registered with thePTA and establish a registered office in the country within nine months of the implementation of the rules.”
Express-Tribune (Pakistan): Sindh to launch digital library on Thursday. “The Sindh culture department has developed a digital library based on interoperable system, through which readers will be able to access over 100 million books, research journals and articles sourced from libraries across the world. The library will be launched on Thursday and the initiative has been taken in line with Sindh High Court orders.” Sindh is a province in Pakistan.
New York Times: Trolls Flood Social Media in Pakistan Amid Virus Lockdown. “Toxic trending on Twitter has also taken aim at minorities, blaming the ethnic Hazaras for allegedly bringing the coronavirus to Pakistan from neighboring Iran. Like most Iranians, Hazaras are Shiites, and traditionally make pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran, which has the deadliest virus outbreak in the region. Some Pakistani pilgrims returning home were among the first reported cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan.”
Daily Pakistan: Facebook introduces new tool for Pakistan to limit fake information. “Facebook has launched a new product in Pakistan to help limit the spread of misinformation and to provide people using the platform with additional context before they share images that are more than a year old and that could be potentially harmful or misleading.”
Neowin: Pakistan issues final warning to TikTok over ‘immoral’ content, bans Bigo Live. “Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a ‘final warning’ to TikTok on Monday over ‘immoral, obscene, and vulgar content’ posted on the short-form video app, in addition to blocking Bigo Live, a live-streaming app, for the same reason.”
