New Delhi: In a big news the official Twitter accounts of Pakistan Embassies in UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt have been banned by the social media platform in India.
The development came immediately after Twitter withheld the account of the national public broadcaster in Pakistan – Radio Pakistan. After these official accounts were withheld in India, the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Twitter to restore the accounts with immediate access.
Earlier the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had blocked 16 YouTube news channels including 6 Pakistan-based channels as they were found to spread disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order. In such a time the current development of banning of the above stated Twitter accouns has taken place.
According to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, these YouTube channels were spreading false, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony, and disturb public order in India. The blocked social media accounts include six Pakistan-based and 10 India-based YouTube news channels, which had a cumulative viewership of over 68 crore.
None of the digital news publishers had furnished information to the Ministry as required under rule 18 of the IT Rules, 2021, the government said.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said that these 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 .
The content of these channels were observed to be completely false, and sensitive from the perspective of national security, sovereignty, and integrity of India, and India’s friendly relations with foreign States.
By Nilanchal Naik
