Pakistan temporarily suspends all social media platforms

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In a statement, the Ministry announced that it would briefly be suspending the services of Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram in the country, without mentioning a reason for suspension.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to temporarily block access to social media websites across the country between 11 AM and 3 PM on Friday. In a statement, the Ministry announced that it would briefly be suspending the services of Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram in the country, without mentioning a reason for suspension.

“…complete access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) may be blocked from 1100hrs to 1500hrs on 16th April 2021 across the country,” the notification issued by the Ministry of Interior read, according to Dawn.

In a statement released shortly after, the PTA said that it was restricting access to “certain social media applications” in order to “maintain public order and safety”.

This step comes merely a day after the Pakistan government slapped a ban on the radical Islamist party, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), under the Terrorism Act after its supporters clashed with the law enforcement agencies for the third consecutive day.

More details awaited. 

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