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Govt denies intention to ban Facebook [Pajhwok Afghan News](Pajhwok Afghan News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) by Hakim Basharat on 6 July, 2014 - 15:37 KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology (MCIT) on Sunday said the government had rejected a proposal to ban Facebook during an ongoing deadlock over the presidential election. Talking to Pajhwok Afghan News, MCIT spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said the National Security Council (NSC) had earlier decided to ban Facebook. "The matter of banning Facebook was on the agenda of NSC meeting today but President Hamid Karzai was not in favour of the idea". The ministry was also against blocking of Facebook, he said, quashing rumours that the government might block the social networking website until results from the runoff presidential election were announced. Facebook users also expressed concerns over a possible ban on the webpage. A user Mirwais Umarkhel wrote on his Facebook wall that banning of the website would mean hammering a last nail in the coffin of democracy and freedom of speech in the country. Another Facebook user, Syed Ahmad Shah Sadaat, said that freedom of speech was a major development achieved during Karzai's government and banning of Facebook would mean reversing the gain. Bitter Internet exchanges between supporters of presidential candidates Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Abdullah Abdullah over alleged fraud in the June 14 election are feared to spill into violence. sks/rm/ma ( Read more) (c) 2014 Pajhwok Afghan News. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |