October 3, 2022 – The official Twitter account of the government of Pakistan has been withheld in India, according to reports by Indian news outlets.
The account has reportedly been withheld “in response to a legal demand”. It has yet to be known what prompted India to opt for this action as Twitter withholds accounts following legal demands such as a court order based on local laws from the authorities.
The Twitter account of the Government of Pakistan withheld in India pic.twitter.com/60Uzpoujwz
— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2022
There has been, however, no official statement on the development from Pakistan.
This is not the first time India has blocked Pakistani official accounts. In June, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Twitter accounts belonging to several Pakistani embassies in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and the United States had been blocked by India.
“Deeply concerning that India has blocked flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts,” the Foreign Office had tweeted. “Diminishing space for plurality of voices and access to info in India is extremely alarming. Social media platforms must abide by applicable international laws.”
Deeply concerning that #India has blocked flow of information to Indian @Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts👇🏽
📍@PakinIran
📍@PakinTurkey
📍@PakinEgypt
📍@PakistanUN_NY.These are in addition to many others for which access has been blocked.
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) June 27, 2022
Earlier, the Indian Ministry of Information Technology and Broadcasting had reportedly blocked 16 YouTube channels, including six Pakistan-based channels, claiming that they were “spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order”.
“YouTube channels based in Pakistan were found to have been used in a coordinated manner to post fake news about India on various subjects such as the Indian Army, Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s foreign relations in the light of the situation in Ukraine, etc.,” read an official statement. “The content of these channels was observed to be completely false, and sensitive from the perspective of national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, and India’s friendly relations with foreign states.”
India had blocked the Twitter handle of Radio Pakistan as well.
