The Senate of Pakistan is set to discuss and consider a resolution on Monday regarding the imposition of a ban on social media in the country.
Pakistan People Party(PPP) Senator Bahramand Tangi has tabled the resolution in the upper house of the parliament, seeking a ban on prominent social media platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and YouTube.
The resolution is scheduled for discussion on March 4 during the Senate’s meeting.
The senator advocated for a ban on the platform, emphasizing the need to “safeguard the younger generation from its negative and destructive impacts.”
He further asserted that these social media platforms were promoting norms contrary to the country’s religious and cultural values. Senator Tangi also accused the platforms of fueling animosity among people based on language and religion, expressing concerns about their use of “negative and malicious propaganda against the armed forces of Pakistan.”
In response to these actions, PPP leaders stated that Senator Tangi’s party membership was terminated due to violations of party discipline and failure to respond to a show-cause notice.
During a press conference on February 2, PPP district president Naeem Khan Umarzai mentioned that the senator deviated from the party’s narrative in the recent Senate session. His membership was revoked after he neglected to respond to a resolution by independent Senator Dilawar Khan, which called for the postponement of general elections.
Meanwhile, access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has remained restricted in Pakistan for the last two weeks. The outage, which began on February 17, persists, and users continue to encounter difficulties in accessing the platform.
