The Stream

Viral video reignites fight to end Pakistan’s YouTube ban

Pakistani activists and musicians continue movement against online censorship.

‘#KholoBC – ALI GUL PIR x ADIL OMAR’. Screenshot via YouTube.

Free-speech advocates in Pakistan are rallying around a viral video that some are calling an anthem against Pakistan’s almost 2-year-old ban on YouTube.

The music video, #KholoBC, is part of the youth initiative Pakistan for All, a movement that advocates against state censorship. The video title “Kholo ban, chor” (Urdu for “End the ban, thief”) is a homonym of a popular vernacular insult, abbreviated as “BC” on social media.