Two months ago, Pakistan’s caretaker government blocked people from accessing X, formerly known as Twitter, by imposing a ban on the social media platform. However, the ban remained a mystery as both the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the government kept lying about having no knowledge regarding the matter.
Recently, the Interior Minister has finally come clear on the matter after months of lying to the courts. As users in Pakistan, a country with 240 million people, face difficulty using the platform, the Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has supported the decision to ban X.
Dar explained that restricting access to Twitter was in the “best interests of Pakistan.” He compared the situation to the United States, where the government might ban TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company due to worries about data security.
The minister questioned why other countries can ban certain apps, but Pakistan’s ban on Twitter is being criticized.
Recently, the Sindh High Court ordered the government to lift the ban within a week. The Interior Ministry imposed the ban citing reasons of national security, public order, and the nation’s integrity, but the court was unhappy with the lack of explanation and the failure to follow proper procedures for blocking harmful content on the site.
X, the social media company owned by Elon Musk, stated that it’s cooperating with the authorities in Pakistan regarding their concerns.