Twitter Accounts Of 4 Pakistani Embassies Blocked By India

The Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it is "deeply concerning" that India has blocked the "flow of information" to Indian Twitter users by withholding access to these official accounts

Twitter India on Monday banned several official accounts of Pakistan Embassies in UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt.  "Account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand," reads the error message displayed while opening these accounts. Earlier, Twitter had withheld the account of the national public broadcaster in Pakistan – Radio Pakistan. After India blocked these official Twitter accounts, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Twitter to restore these accounts with immediate access.

The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed that it is "deeply concerning" that India has blocked the "flow of information" to Indian Twitter by withholding access to these official accounts. 

The ban comes after the ministry of information and broadcasting had earlier blocked 16 YouTube news channels including six Pakistan-based channels for spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order, reported news agency ANI.

YouTube channels were spreading false, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony, and disturb public order in India, cited the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at the time of ban.

Among the blocked accounts include six Pakistan-based and 10 India-based YouTube news channels, with a cumulative viewership of more than 68 crore. The government noted that one of the digital news publishers had furnished information to the Ministry as required under rule 18 of the IT Rules, 2021, as per the report.

YouTube channels based in Pakistan were found to have been used in a coordinated manner to post fake news about India on various subjects such as the Indian Army, Jammu, and Kashmir, and India’s foreign relations in the light of the situation in Ukraine among others, it said.

It was observed that the content of these channels was completely false, and sensitive from the perspective of national security, sovereignty, and integrity of India, and India’s friendly relations with foreign States. On earlier occasions, too, India has called out Pakistan for propagating fake news through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

(With agency inputs)