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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed concerns over the blocking of access in India to the Twitter handles of its missions abroad by the Indian government.
In a statement, the Foreign Office spokesperson said that India had withheld access to the twitter handles of Pakistan’s embassies in Iran, Turkiye, Egypt and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
Deeply concerning that #India has blocked flow of information to Indian @Twitter by withholding access to following official accounts👇🏽
📍@PakinIran
📍@PakinTurkey
📍@PakinEgypt
📍@PakistanUN_NY.These are in addition to many others for which access has been blocked.
— Spokesperson 🇵🇰 MoFA (@ForeignOfficePk) June 27, 2022
“These are in addition to many others for which access has been blocked,” he commented.
The spokesperson said that diminishing space for plurality of voices and access to information in India was extremely alarming.
He said the social media platforms must abide by the applicable international norms.
“We are urging Twitter to restore immediate access to our accounts and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression,” the spokesperson remarked.
Yesterday, it was reported in Indian news outlets that the neighboring country had also withheld the Twitter handle of the official Radio Pakistan.
According to India Today, the move came after the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting earlier blocked 16 YouTube news channels including six Pakistan-based channels, claiming they were “spreading disinformation related to India’s national security, foreign relations, and public order”.