Pakistan\u2019s interior ministry said on Wednesday it blocked access to social media platform X around the time of February\u2019s election on national security concerns, confirming a long-suspected shutdown.
\nUsers have reported problems using X, formerly known as Twitter, in Pakistan since mid-February, but the government has made no official announcements.
\nThe interior ministry mentioned the shutdown in a written court submission on Wednesday.
\n\u201cIt is very pertinent to mention here that the failure of Twitter\/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban,\u201d said the report, seen by Reuters.
\nIt said X had been reluctant to resolve the issue. X did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Wednesday.
\n\u201cThe decision to impose a ban on Twitter\/X in Pakistan was made in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation\u201d, the report said.
\nAccess to X has remained limited since the Feb. 8 national election, which the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan says was rigged.
\nAmong Pakistan\u2019s political parties, Khan\u2019s party is the most prolific user of social media platforms, particularly after the country\u2019s traditional media began censoring news about the ex-cricket star and his party ahead of the polls. Khan has over 20 million followers on X, making him the most followed Pakistani.
\nKhan says Pakistan\u2019s military was behind his ouster as prime minister in 2022 and that it helped his opponents form the current government, despite candidates backed by his party winning most seats in February\u2019s polls. The military denies this charge.
\nHe remains in jail on a number of convictions, most of which came days before the election.
\nMany government officials in Pakistan, notably Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, continue to use X \u2013 most likely through VPN software that bypasses the blocks.
\nThe decision to temporarily block X was taken after considering confidential reports from Pakistan\u2019s intelligence and security agencies, the report said.
\nIt said \u201chostile elements operating on Twitter\/X have nefarious intentions to create an environment of chaos and instability, with the ultimate goal of destabilising the country and plunging it into some form of anarchy\u201d.
\n(Reuters)Social media ban. social media platform, Pakistan, national security<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan’s interior ministry confirmed blocking access to social media platform X during February’s election due to national security concerns. This decision was made after X, formerly Twitter, failed to comply with government directives and address misuse of the platform. The ban was imposed to uphold national security, public order, and the nation’s integrity. Despite restrictions, some government officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, continue to use X through VPN software. The decision to block X was based on confidential reports from intelligence and security agencies, citing concerns of hostile elements on the platform aiming to create chaos and instability in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6552,2149,4422,5713,279,2577,932,920,1600,203,2515,415,5210,6726,899,3032,2667,6093,2952,3504,1874,3331,4541,5328,6841,6132,4628,5863,1792,4620,2871,2599,827,5524,817,6842,6806,4987,169,18],"class_list":["post-8572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-access","tag-ban","tag-candidates","tag-chaos","tag-comment","tag-concerns","tag-court","tag-cricket","tag-election","tag-environment","tag-february","tag-government","tag-government-officials","tag-instability","tag-interest","tag-interior-ministry","tag-jail","tag-jailed","tag-media","tag-military","tag-national-security","tag-news","tag-pakistan","tag-party","tag-platform-x","tag-platforms","tag-political-parties","tag-polls","tag-prime-minister","tag-report","tag-request","tag-restrictions","tag-security","tag-security-concerns","tag-social-media","tag-social-media-platform","tag-social-media-platforms","tag-software","tag-twitter","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n