Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar defended the government’s decision to impose restrictions on users’ access to social media platform X, which was formerly Twitter, claiming that it was within its authority to act in what it considered to be “Pakistan’s best interests,” according to VOA.
“May I ask those countries that they also have put [a] ban on certain apps?” Mr. Dar remarked, seemingly taking aim at Washington’s attempts to outlaw TikTok unless it severed connections with its Chinese parent business. Thus, one nation is fine yet Pakistan’s Twitter ban is not acceptable?
In a television interview last week, he stated, “Undoubtedly, the nation will make its own decision in the light of various factors, which were the basis of — you know — delaying it [suspending it].”
The interior ministry stated the ban was enforced “in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation.” On Wednesday, the Sindh High Court granted the government a week to revoke the order.
After Musk’s takeover, rights campaigners claim it is “almost impossible” to interact with the site.
The ministry’s letter, the court pointed out, did not follow the established guidelines for prohibiting dangerous online information and did not provide any justification for blocking the platform.
The interior ministry justified X’s suspension by telling the high court that the platform was not registered as a business locally and that it had disregarded orders to take down offensive comments about Pakistan’s chief justice.
However, Haroon Baloch of the information and communication technologies think tank Bytes for All claimed that the local registration requirement was an attempt to influence a business and obtain user data.
Speaking to VOA, Mr. Baloch stated, “They [the Pakistani authorities] wanted data of Pakistani social media users to be housed or hosted through Pakistan and not hosted outside Pakistan.”
He claimed that after Elon Musk took over the company, it was nearly hard for media freedom advocates to interact with X.
Bits for According to all available information, Pakistan may be assisting in the implementation of the ban by Akamai, a worldwide content hosting provider, by refusing user requests to connect to X.
If Pakistani officials had asked for assistance in blocking users, VOA inquired with Akamai. Through email, the corporation stated that it was “not aware of any such requests at this time.”
