Pakistan temporarily blocks all social media platforms

Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior issued a notification on April 16, 2021 directing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to temporarily block complete access to all social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram and YouTube.

The social media websites were blocked across the country between 11 AM and 3 PM on April 16th. The Ministry did not mention the reason for the suspension. 

The Ministry's statement read, “…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 Pakistan Telecommunication Authority stated that it was restricting access to “certain social media applications” in order to “maintain public order and safety”.

The temporary suspension moves just a day after Pakistan 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.

Background

There were anti-French protests across Pakistan a few days earlier, which were called by radical Islamists opposed to cartoons they consider blasphemous. Three demonstrators had also died in the clashes with security agencies.