I woke up the morning with this news that Pakistan bans Facebook and is planning to ban Youtube which may extend to banning Wikipedia, Flickr, Picasa and what else. Not sure, if this is all rumour where news frenzy media has gone extreme with extremist Pakistan but who cares … and thus this haha !!!  Oh My poor boy Pakistan, you remind me of my 14 year old cousin who gets offended by every second thing in the world … bless you !

There is so much to write on this story : cite religion, criticise Pakistan, freedom of expression, some history digging with Dutch cartoonist or the recent militant warnings to attack Dutch team and supporters in the FIFA World Cup 2010. I am getting excited … Pakistan has suddenly given me a stress-buster for my stressed office life … thank you Pakistan !

I will begin with couple of status messages that I have found on my facebook wall today morning, really made my day -:D

1. Pakistan may just become the most productive country of all, now that it has banned facebook! -  Shwetak .

2. What’s the difference between Facebook and Jamaat-ud-Dawa? Ans: Facebook is banned in Pakistan – @Acron,

3. Pakistan bans pen and paper in schools as they can be used to draw and depict objectionable content – fakingnews

There are many more, but I don’t want to fill up my post with other people satires.

Honestly speaking, I was not aware of the root cause of this ban and no hints of any contest to draw Muhammad, and after some googling, the whole thing looks so funny. Summarizing for my less news-savvy readers, the story goes like thast there is some cartoon show – South Park in US where the producers have showed Mohammad in bear suit earlier this year and that has attracted lot of criticism and threats from various Muslim groups. After that, the producers have publically apologised which didn’t go well with one Seattle based cartoonist Molly Norris and she in turn created one cartoon criticising South Park with a hoarding – ‘Everybody draw Mohammad Day’ – which soon caught the fascination of couple of people where they went ahead and made a campaign out of this, created a facebook page and decided 20th May as the day to submit various drawings. While Molly is now horrified and has joined the group – Against Everybody draw Mohammad Day but the pro group has already crosssed 40K mark and against group also crossing 55K+ ( I see after this ban, pro may move faster than against as whole lot of people will not be able to access FB). Alrite, moving ahead, Pakistani people - Protest champs- have protested against this ban, some people have filed petition in Pakistan court and the court has given verdict to ban the Facebook (not just the page but the entire website as the later has allowed to put the page). Not surprised to see how suddenly court has become so efficient to pass this electrical verdict when millions of cases are pending.

While I am smiling finding this whole series of events as funny, it’s real sad and frightening to see a nation with nuclear powers acting this childish. I can compare this to lot of things – I have been teased by the neighbor child and I committ suicide (Note: it’s not like killing neighbor – here Facebook – as ban will kill Pakistani young generation who must be clueless and confused after this).  It’s like – My sister has been teased by someone on Road and after that she has been banned to come to Road. It’s childish, stupid, non-liberal, most idiotic thing on planet !

While I don’t connect this particular incident with Muslims but with couple of power holding, power hungry,  self-indulgent illiterates as Pakistan doesn’t represnt Muslims. There are more muslims in India and Muslims worldwide are protesting in various ways – like deactivating their accounts on 20th May for one day, taking oaths to boycott Facebook etc etc, so my dear friends, I respect your religion and your belief with whole gratitude and don’t take any of my writing otherwise.  I am angry with these politicians, hard-liner judges, religious leaders who fool poor, god-fearing people and play with their sentiments.

These power hungry politicians are not able to provide electricity, clean water, homes  so they are diverting people attention. While govt can’t save dying people in NW Frontier from Al-Qaeda, govt is attacking/passing death sentences to writers and cartoonists. While they can’t ban militant outfits, they are banning facebook. They are so coward and weak that they can’t tolerate any criticism. Tell me one thing – Is it that one religion is above all crticism and there should no questions on it but just blind beliefs. Whatever has been written in Stoneage will hold true always. Perhaps this is the reason which made me to write this post on why I wish to be Hindu always? If you will not improve and accept positive criticism then there is only one way for you – backwards !

While this is sad for many of Progressive Pakistanis and Muslims who have been trying their best to gel with the whole world, like recent Muslim Miss USA, even the court decision is flawed if analyzed most objectively. What was the problem – A campaign to draw Mohammad  and who has been punished – some US community website. Now the whole hatred have been shifted from those bunch of people who have started this campaign to Facebook. We know that these websites (after that they are nothing but money making companies who have to take care of their shareholders and quarterly statements) have been very supportive to obey rule of law. Has Pakistan govt asked to remove the page, I don’t see any reason why Facebook would not have pleased. This hastiness has given bad taste and twisted the whole event.

This ban has once again provided fuel to those who see Pakistan as intolerant society. The new Pakistanis must be feeling at loss – the govt has acted on their behalf, done something which people should have done on their own where the govt has really failed to perform it’s essential duties. A bunch of haters have caused hell lot of inconvenience to whole Pakistan young fraternity and Govt only supported those haters and marketed their hatred to guys like me who were not aware that today is some Day and now you see that I am expert on this case.

Sad for Pakistani young people, you are the change …bring the change !