Recently several Twitter accounts of Pakistan personnel were suspended by Twitter.  These accounts include twitter handles being run by journalists, activists, and even some government officials.

While Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is trying to take up a case with Twitter to know why around 200 accounts have been blocked, it would save them the trouble of lodging a complaint if they would take notice of the kind of messages being circulated by these handles. One look at the fake posts and the nuisance floating around on twitter should be enough to justify the reason for their suspension. Not only the ones already blocked, but there are many more out there, doing the devilish job of spitting venom against the Indian government and starting a hate war on Twitter on the name of Kashmir.

Surely, one can’t  blame Twitter for doing its job right and adhering to its policies which prohibit terrorism, hateful conduct and abuse.

China, on the other hand, has been accused of deliberately attempting to sow political discord in Hong Kong. The situation in Hong Kong hasn’t been any better with thousands of people taking to streets, protesting against an extradition bill. While all this unrest happens in the city, behind the scenes, the Chinese government is seeking to sway public opinion about Hong Kong. The Chinese Government is passively backing a social media campaign to discredit Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and plant discord in the city. As a result, about 200K accounts have been shut down by twitter.

Is it possible that Pakistan is following the footsteps of its elder brother China and starting its campaign against India? Pakistan sure has been seeking assistance from China in several other issues, so it does not come as a surprise if it might have followed suit in this too. But if it continues to do so, Pakistan may soon lose whatever little critical thinking ability it may be left with.

23 Aug 19/Friday                                      Written by Naphisa