Over 1 million pilgrims benefit from golf cart service at Grand Mosque during Ramadan    Visitors welcomed with Eid initiative at Thee Ain Heritage Village in Al-Baha    Tebuk emir reviews rain response in Tayma    Saudi Arabia considers rent cap as part of major real estate reforms    Messi's bodyguard banned from touchline at Inter Miami games    Screen time in bed linked to insomnia, study finds    Le Pen vows to appeal political ban, calls verdict a 'denial of democracy'    Death toll from Myanmar earthquake rises to 2,719 as rescue efforts continue    Russia, Ukraine trade blame over new energy strikes    Putin orders Russia's largest military call-up in over a decade    Albania hosts MWL chief for Eid sermon at largest mosque in the Balkans    Haramain High-Speed Railway transports over 1.2 million passengers during Ramadan    Saudi Transport Authority says passengers can ride for free if taxi meters are off    Ministry of Education forms 425 community partnerships with SR653 million impact    Mexico bans junk food in schools to fight childhood obesity epidemic    Sweet sales surge ahead of Eid as Saudi chocolate imports top 123 million kg in 2024    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Afghan gov't orders HamidKarzai.com shut down
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 18 - 07 - 2009


The Afghan government has blocked access to
four Web sites with President Hamid Karzai's name in the
address that are critical of the Afghan leader or have
links to sites advertising locally taboo subjects such as
online dating and mail order brides, AP reported.
The shutdown order comes ahead of the country's Aug. 20
presidential election. An Information Ministry spokesman
initially said the original complaint about two of the
sites came from the Karzai campaign. Karzai's campaign
spokesman agreed, but later called back to deny
involvement.
Afghan coverage of the presidential race has been
dominated by Karzai, while his 40 opponents complain
they've received scant attention in state-run media,
forcing them to campaign in person or on the Internet in a
country where daily travel can be deadly and few have home
computers.
The Information Ministry ordered the country's 25 Internet
service providers to shut down access to four Web sites
bearing Karzai's name and one with the name of an Afghan
Cabinet minister, the director of the Afghan Telecom
Regulatory Authority said Saturday.
The four sites all bear the president's full or last name,
but they clearly don't have Karzai's backing.
Hamidkarzai.com asks «Is Hamid Karzai anything more than
a puppet?» in a blaring red headline. The site calls
Karzai an «inefficient» politician and says he came into
power because of his «long-standing ties with the CIA.»
The site is registered in Springfield, Va., according to
the Web site www.whois.net, which publishes Internet
registration records.
Other banned sites with Karzai in the address show
advertisements for online dating and mail order brides _
touchy subjects in conservative Afghanistan. Another links
to a Chinese-language search engine.
The spokesman for Karzai's election campaign, Waheed Omar,
first told The Associated Press that the shutdown of the
sites was «on our request.» Omar said he did not think
that others had the right to operate sites such as
HamidKarzai.com and write negative things about the
president.
Omar said the campaign was launching a new Web site,
www.hamidkarzai.af, and it didn't want Web users to be
confused by unofficial sites.
However, Omar later called AP back and said that he had
been mistaken, and that after consulting with colleagues
learned that the request had not come from the campaign
office.
«I can assure you it has not come from our side,» Omar
said.
The spokesman for the Information Ministry, Hamid Nasery,
said he believed the original complaint over two Web sites
had originated from the Karzai campaign but said he needed
to gather more information.
The ministry's complaint commission, which investigates
media violations, had not received any complaints about the
Web sites, said Ali Ahmad Fakoor, a member of the
commission.
The order only applies to Afghanistan's 25 Internet
Service Providers, and the sites remain available outside
Afghanistan. Any Internet company that does not block the
sites will be referred to the attorney general, said Zekria
Hassan, the director of the Afghan Telecom Regulatory
Authority.
One of the sites ordered blocked is www.karimkhoram.com, a
site registered in the name of Information Minister Abdul
Karim Khoram, who has been criticized for stifling media
freedoms in the past.
The site, which is a mirror copy of www.kabulpress.org,
calls on the government to free a jailed student journalist
named Parwez Kambakhsh, who was convicted in 2008 of
blasphemy in part for distributing an Internet article
asking why Islam does not modernize to give women equal
rights. His death sentence was reduced to 20 years in
prison by the Supreme Court.
The order comes on the heels of a July 9 report by the
Independent Election Commission, which found that Karzai
garners 60 percent of election coverage on state TV.
Karzai's presidential opponents have complained repeatedly
that Karzai has a built-in campaign advantage by being able
to use state media for campaign purposes.


Clic here to read the story from its source.