This is with reference to news report, “YouTube to remain blocked in Pakistan ‘indefinitely’: Officials” (Feb. 8)

If you were not surprised to see ex-chief justice of Lahore High Court defending a convicted murderer, Mumtaz Qadri — the man who shot dead Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2011 — then you should ignore the government’s recent announcement on YouTube ban. The government appears to be no different from the former top judge’s eulogizing of the murderer.

YouTube was banned in the country in 2012 on charges that it has uploaded blasphemous content on its pages.

Are government officials not aware that what they want to conceal is already available through proxies and other video-sharing websites? In that case, why not ban the Internet access altogether? I fail to understand why all this fuss about YouTube?

Those who intend to access objectionable material may do it any time at their will. Then why punish the general public including students?

For how long will we remain in the dark. Unless we know what the outside world is saying about us, how do we suppose to respond to them or clarify the issue? Does our faith so vulnerable that YouTube material will take its viewers away from the religion?

Instead of sticking our heads under sand and waiting for the storm to pass, why don’t we defend ourselves against all such propaganda against our religion?

We are becoming a laughing stock even among Muslim countries where no such blanket-ban on YouTube exists.