In a recent move, the Twitter account of the government of Pakistan has been withheld in India. Twitter is now showing a notice on the profile which say that the account has been withheld in India after a legal demand.
So far, the Twitter handle of only the government of Pakistan has been blocked. Whereas, its accounts on other social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have not been withheld.
According to several reports, it is not the first strike against Pakistan. The account was earlier withheld and was reactivated.
Meanwhile, the reason behind this move against the official Twitter account of the Government of Pakistan is not yet clear, the move came immediately after the Government of India withheld the social media handles of the radical Islamic organization Popular Front of India (PFI).
The Twitter handle of Popular Front of India (PFI) was withheld in India. The move came after the ban on the Islamist organization and its sister organizations imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India (GoI), on September 27, through a gazette notification. The message on the account mentions that “@PFIOfficial’s account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand.”
Notably, the same is mentioned on the Twitter handle of the Government of Pakistan.
As per Twitter guidelines, the microblogging site takes such action in reply to a valid legal demand, such as a court order.
Back in the month of June, Twitter in India has also imposed a ban on official handles of the Embassies of Pakistan in the UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt. In the month of August, India has banned 8 YouTube-based news channels, including one operating from Pakistan and one Facebook handle for posting “fake, anti-India content” online. The government of India has so far blocked over 100 YouTube channels, 5 Twitter accounts, 4 Facebook pages as well as 3 Instagram handles for spreading messages against India.
