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A Pakistani court on Friday rejected a petition seeking a ban on WikiLeaks for releasing thousands of secret United States diplomatic cables, with the judge saying the people must know the facts.
Justice Azmat Saeed of the Lahore high court rejected the petition that was filed on Thursday by lawyer Arif Gondal and said the people should not be kept in dark about such matters in the 21st century.
In his application, Gondal had claimed that WikiLeaks' revelations were made deliberately to create differences among Muslim countries and to cause anarchy in Pakistan.
He also claimed WikiLeaks was defaming the country and its rulers. However, the judge observed that there was no harm in exposing the actions of a few people in the corridors of power.
"We should have the courage to face the criticism," he remarked. Saeed said Pakistan cannot be isolated in the world by imposing a ban on the whistle-blowing website.
He pointed out that WikiLeaks had released documents about 170 countries and nothing would happen if the people of Pakistan came to know the facts.
Wikileaks has released thousands of confidential US diplomatic documents, including many about Pakistan that contain embarrassing disclosures about the country's political and military leadership.
One cable mentioned that the Pakistan army had allowed US Special Forces to embed with Pakistani soldiers in operations in the lawless Waziristan tribal region last year.
Publicly, Pakistani officials have maintained that they will never allow foreign troops to operate on the country's soil.
In another cable, former US ambassador Anne Patterson said there was "no chance" of Pakistan "abandoning support for (militant) groups". The Pakistan government, she said, saw militant groups "as an important part of its national security apparatus against India".
Several cables expressed concerns among Western diplomats about Pakistan's nuclear materials falling into the hands of extremists. In order to avoid an impact on bilateral relations, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telephoned President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday night to discuss the release of official correspondence by WikiLeaks.
Both leaders agreed that the WikiLeaks' disclosures were unauthorised and had been taken out of context as they were based on raw information that did not reflect the correct nature of purported official correspondence.
They also agreed that the leaks will not be allowed to cast a shadow on the strategic partnership between the two countries.