YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram And TikTok Banned In Pakistan Till THIS Date! Know The Reason

In Pakistan, something seems to happen every day. The Shehbaz Sharif government has now imposed a six-day social media ban. Let us inform you that for the past four months, Pakistan has prohibited access to the microblogging website X, formerly known as Twitter.

Social Media Ban

In an effort to "control hate material, misinformation to avoid sectarian violence," the cabinet committee on law and order led by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has recommended that all social media platforms—including YouTube, X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok—be banned in Punjab, a province home to over 120 million people, from July 13–18, during the month of Muharram. The notification was released by the Punjab government last Thursday night. 

Reason Behind Ban

Following this recent declaration from the Shahbaz government, users in that region would not be able to access Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or WhatsApp. This prohibition is in effect from July 13 to July 18. Social media is allegedly being banned in order to deter hateful remarks and videos from spreading. According to the Shahbaz government, the restriction was implemented in response to the anger expressed on social media. Social media must be managed to ensure that there are no incidents of any type during the holy month of Ramadan.

The idea of outright prohibiting social media in Pakistan has been discussed previously. Social media has already been labeled as "vicious media" by Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, who has emphasized the need to combat "digital terrorism." Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister of Pakistan and the country's foreign minister, recently advocated for outright banning social media. 

Following the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan via a no-confidence resolution in April 2022, the Pakistani government and military are facing criticism on social media. After this, the Pakistan government has declared, "Hostile elements operating on Twitter/X have nefarious intentions to create an environment of chaos and instability, with the ultimate goal of destabilizing the country and plunging it into some form of anarchy."