Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar defended the government’s decision to block access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating that it was within the government’s authority to take actions deemed “in the best interests of Pakistan,” according to VOA.
In a subtle reference to Washington’s move to potentially ban TikTok unless it severed ties with its Chinese parent company, Dar questioned why “one country is OK” while Pakistan’s ban on Twitter is criticized.
During a media interaction last week, Dar emphasized that Pakistan would make decisions based on various factors that led to the suspension of the platform.
The Sindh High Court has given the government one week to lift the ban, which the interior ministry asserted was imposed to safeguard national security, public order, and the nation’s integrity.
However, the court observed that the ministry’s explanation lacked specific reasons for the platform’s suspension and did not follow established protocols for blocking harmful online content.
The interior ministry justified the suspension by stating that X was not locally registered as a company and had disregarded requests to remove content defaming the chief justice of Pakistan.
Haroon Baloch of Bytes for All, a think tank focusing on information and communication technologies, suggested that the local registration requirement aimed to influence the company and access users’ data.
Baloch also noted the challenges faced by media freedom workers in engaging with X after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the company.
According to research by Bytes for All, the global content hosting company Akamai may be assisting Pakistan in implementing the ban by rejecting users’ requests to connect to X.
When asked about potential requests from Pakistani authorities to aid in blocking users, Akamai stated via email that it was “currently not aware of any such requests,” as reported by VOA.
