Pakistan Suspends WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Other Social Media Platforms Following Violent Protests

Pakistani government said “access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) may be blocked”.

By Press Trust of India | Updated: 16 April 2021 14:41 IST

Pakistan Suspends WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Other Social Media Platforms Following Violent Protests

WhatsApp and other social media platforms have been blocked from 11am to 3pm PST (GMT+5)

Highlights

Protests were to force Pakistan to expel the French ambassador
The contention is a blasphemous caricature published last year in France
Seven people died and 300 policemen were injured in the violent protests

Pakistan has temporarily suspended the services of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp to stop their use to organise demonstrations following violent protests by a radical religious group that has now been banned by the government.

The government banned Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) on Thursday following three days of violent protest by it to force the government to expel the French ambassador over a blasphemous caricature published in France last year.

The TLP had launched the country-wide protest on Monday after the arrest of its chief Saad Hussain Rizvi. The TLP supporters clashed with the law enforcement agencies in several towns and cities earlier this week, leaving seven persons dead and over 300 policemen injured.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

To stop the protests after Friday prayers, the Interior Ministry directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to suspend social media services for four hours from 11 am to 3 pm PST (GMT+5).

The PTA said in a notification that “complete access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) may be blocked”.

The reason for the suspension of the services was not stated by the PTA but official sources said that it was feared that protesters could use social media to organise demonstrations.

Suspension of internet and mobile phone services is a common practice in Pakistan to forestall protests and acts of terrorism.

But this time only social media has been particularly targeted as the TLP was reportedly using it effectively against the government action. On Thursday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed warned the TLP against using YouTube to upload propaganda videos.

The TLP came to prominence in November 2017 when it staged a sit-in at the Faizabad interchange near Islamabad and cut off the capital from the old international airport.

Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) was in the government then and Imran Khan, the current prime minister, and his Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party had supported the protest.

Does WhatsApp's new privacy policy spell the end for your privacy? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.