Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently joined world leaders in congratulating President-elect Donald Trump for his win in the United States elections. PM Sharif congratulated Trump on Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on his historic victory for a second term! I look forward to working closely with the incoming Administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-U.S. partnership. @realDonaldTrump,” posted PM Sharif.
The Pakistan PM was trolled by some users for wishing Trump on Twitter. As his post was flagged with a community note for an apparent legal breach. The reason for the same is that Sharif allegedly used VPN to access the platform, a practice that is reportedly banned under Pakistan’s internet regulations.
Shortly after the Pakistan PM posted his congratulatory message for US President elect Donald Trump, Twitter added a Community Note to the post, stating that Sharif was accessing Twitter through a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which, according to Pakistani law, is unlawful.
The note read: “Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has banned X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan. He is using a VPN to access X, which is unlawful according to Pakistani law.”
Though Twitter community note suggests that Sharif was violating local regulations, it is not clear if the Pakistan Prime Minister posted the message from within Pakistan or outside the country.
Ban on Twitter in Pakistan
In April this year, Pakistan’s interior ministry had imposed a ban on X, citing concerns over national security. Though some reports claim that the platform has remained inaccessible to users within the country since February — when allegations of a rigged elections first started appearing on social media channels.
In a court submission seen by news agency Reuters in September this year, the Interior Ministry alleged that Twitter/X had failed to address issues raised by the government, particularly around the misuse of the platform. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has reportedly notified the Sindh High Court (SHC) that services of Twitter have not been reinstated in the country. A report by the news agency ANI cited the Pakistani publication ARY News to note that PTA Director Law Ali Akbar has informed the SHC that a miscommunication led to its counsel’s recent statement about the notification’s withdrawal. PTA has reportedly asked the SHC to either revoke or amend its previous order.
“The 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,” Pakistan’s Interior Minister was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The Pakistani government had claimed in the court that the platform was being used by “hostile elements” to destabilise the country.
Reports also suggest that Twitter is in dialogue with the Pakistani government, working to understand its concerns.