Twitter Withholds Pakistan Govt Official Account in India, 3rd Time in 365 days

This is the third time that the account has been restricted in India, with past incidents in July and October 2022.

According to Twitter guidelines, such actions can be taken in response to legal demands, such as court orders.

(Photo: iStock)

In response to a legal demand, Twitter blocked the official account of the Pakistan government. The account's page displays a message which says, "@GovtofPakistan's account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand." 

"@GovtofPakistan's account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand," the message said. 

(Photo: Screengrab/Twitter)

According to Twitter guidelines, such actions can be taken in response to legal demands, such as court orders. The social media giant stated that if it "receives a valid and properly scoped request from an authorised entity, it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time."

This is the third time that the Pakistan government's official Twitter account has been restricted in India, with previous incidents in July and October 2022.

However, the account remains available for viewing in the United States and Canada.

Previous Instances 

Twitter in banned the handles of Pakistan embassies situated in Turkey, Iran, and Egypt on 28 June 2022. The report added that the official account of Radio Pakistan – the national public broadcaster of Pakistan – was also banned by Twitter India.

Earlier, the Union Ministry for Information and Broadcasting had blocked 16 news channels on YouTube, including six from Pakistan, for allegedly spreading "disinformation" in connection with India's national security, relations with foreign countries and public order.

In August, eight more news channels on YouTube were banned, including one based in Pakistan, for posting alleged "fake, anti-India" content on their respective pages.

The I&B Ministry had said in a statement that the action was taken as per emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

The blocked YouTube channels were purportedly using fake and sensational thumbnails, pictures of news anchors and logos of some TV news channels to "mislead" viewers into believing that the news was authentic.