Pakistani court lifts ban on Facebook after site removes page deemed offensive to Muslims

Pakistani court lifts ban on Facebook

LAHORE, Pakistan — A top information technology official says a Pakistani court has lifted a ban on the social networking website Facebook.

Najibullah Malik, secretary of the country’s information technology ministry, says the Lahore High Court lifted the ban Monday after Facebook removed a page encouraging users to post images of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.

Malik says Facebook also apologized for the page, which was offensive to many Muslims who regard depictions of the prophet, even favorable ones, as blasphemous.

As of midmorning Monday, access to Facebook was still restricted.

Malik says government officials are waiting for a written court order before they advise Internet service providers to restore access to Facebook.