In a massive development, Pakistan on Wednesday banned Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter in the country. X ban in Pakistan was announced by the country's Interior Minister. As a result, the Twitter Ban in Pakistan or X Ban in Pakistan started to trend worldwide. While billionaire Elon Musk has endorsed X as the platform of free speech, Pakistan's crackdown seems unjustified. Now, the question why did Pakistan ban X or why did Pakistan ban Twitter in the country?
Pakistan X ban reason
As per reports, Pakistan's Interior Ministry on Wednesday told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the failure of X, formerly Twitter, to address concerns regarding its misuse necessitated a ban on the social media platform. Interior Secretary Khurram Agha, on behalf of his ministry, submitted a report on the IHC’s orders on journalist Ehtisham Abbasi’s petition challenging the ban.
The development came as Pakistan marked two months of the disruption in the services of X. For the unversed, access to X in Pakistan has been disrupted since February 17, when former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha accused the Chief election commissioner and Chief justice of Pakistan of being involved in rigging the February 8 general elections.
Pakistan media quoted the Interior Ministry's documents submitted to the Islamabad High Court. Going by the documents, Pakistan X ban reason is "failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban".
The documents further stated that X is a threat to Pakistan's national security. "The decision to impose a ban on Twitter/X in Pakistan was made in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation," the document reads adding that the decision was taken after "various confidential reports received from intelligence and security agencies of Pakistan".