Pakistan blocks X for non-compliance with country’s laws

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan said Wednesday that it blocked access to the X social media platform for non-compliance of laws and non-cooperation with the government.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement to the Islamabad High Court that X was temporarily blocked after it did not respond to a request to block several individual accounts.

"The Cyber Crime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has forwarded numerous requests to Twitter/X authorities via the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, urging significant action to block accounts involved in a defamatory campaign against the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan," it said, adding that X has not complied with the request and "demonstrated a lack of responsiveness to Pakistan concerns."

"Twitter authorities are not adhering to local authorities and laws in Pakistan. This lack of cooperation from Twitter/X authorities in addressing content that violates Pakistani laws and values further justified the need for regulatory measures including the temporary ban on Twitter," it said.

The ministry informed the High Court that hostile elements operating on X had "nefarious" intentions to create an environment of chaos in Pakistan that compelled authorities to block access to the social media platform.

The Pakistani government blocked open access to X since Feb. 17 following allegations of rigging during the Feb. 8 general elections.

The ban was imposed after Liaqat Ali Chattha, an election officer in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, publicly claimed to have allegedly changed election results in his area. Video of his exchange with reporters went on social media.

The government, as well as the Pakistan Election Commission, have rejected any wrongdoing in elections.