ISLAMABAD: India has blocked the flow of information to the country’s Twitter by banning the official accounts of many Pakistani journalists, embassies and prominent personalities under Information Technology Act, 2000 of India.
“Deeply concerning that #India has blocked the flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to the following official accounts,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
The banned accounts include accounts of the Pakistani Embassy in UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt.
“Diminishing space for plurality of voices & access to info in India is extremely alarming,” the tweet from MOFA’s official account read.
MOFA called out Twitter, saying that social media platforms should abide by the applicable international norms. It said that the government of Pakistan is urging the tech company to restore access to the restricted accounts immediately and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression.
Twitter handles of prominent journalists withheld
Meanwhile, the Twitter handles of journalists, including The News and Geo News reporter in London, Murtaza Ali Shah, Rana Ayub and CJ Werleman have also been withheld by the company under India’s Information Technology Act, 2000.
Indian journalist Aditya Jha announced that the Shah’s account has been blocked in India over a “legal demand” by the state of India.
