By IANS,
Islamabad: A government move to ban the use of more than 1,000 “derogatory” words in SMS messages has run into a wall of furious netizens.
On micro blogging website Twitter, the response has been swift and fast. Some called the list amusing and idiotic.
A Mirsub Ali Fazlani termed the list ridiculous. Musharraf A. Farooqi said the list could be nominated for “non-fiction awards”.
Wali Tirmizi wrote that the list “has made its way all over Pakistan, and kids are swearing more elaborately and frequently than ever. Well done”.
A Sarabjit Singh said future generations “will remain forever indebted” to Pakistani authorities “for compiling a list of the funniest cuss words in Urdu/Punjabi”.
Some, however, supported the ban.
Hiba Fatima said: “Hopefully, the list of banned words, if not anything. will bring about a revolution in Pakistan.”
Officials of mobile service companies were frustrated, the Dawn reported Saturday.
“It’s impossible to ask our clients to choose their words carefully. We can’t stop people from using so many abbreviations, short hand words, and numerous spellings,” an official said.
PTA official Mohammad Younis said the list was “prepared in consultation with all stakeholders”.
But the Dawn said the list “has been more likely copy-pasted from the internet and passed down to the operators. It includes words such as ‘KKK’ for Ku Klux Klan, ‘Gook’ a term used by the American soldiers for Vietnamese soldiers and ‘Yellowman’ for Chinese”.
Younis said the list was not final, and more will be added “because there is no end to slang and expletives”.