The Indian government has withheld access to the Twitter account of the government of Pakistan. The development comes after the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, that killed 26 tourists and injured 20. The terrorist attack occurred in the Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist destination, where gunmen opened fire on a group of tourists. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar-e-Taiba affiliate, claimed responsibility for the attack, which has drawn widespread condemnation from political leaders and civil society. A message on the Pakistan government’s account reads “Account Withheld, @GovtofPakistan has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.” This is not the first time that India has withheld the government of Pakistan’s account. Twitter banned Government of Pakistan’s account in India in March 2023, and in July and October 2022.
As per Twitter’s Help Center, the decision to withhold a Twitter account is usually made after taking into consideration applicable local laws. “With hundreds of millions of Tweets posted every day around the world, our goal is to respect user expression, while also taking into consideration applicable local laws. Many countries, including the United States, have laws that may apply to Tweets and/or Twitter account content,” reads the official page.
“Such withholdings will be limited to the specific jurisdiction that has issued the valid legal demand or where the content has been found to violate local law(s).”
Pahalgam terror attack: India hits back
Following the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the Ministry of External Affairs announced a series of strong measures, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty “with immediate effect, until Pakistan credibly and irreversibly abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” The government has also shut down the Attari land-transit post.
At a media briefing on April 23, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said Pakistani nationals will not be permitted to travel to India under the SAARC visa exemption scheme (SVES). He further said that any Pakistani national currently in India under it SVES visa has 48 hours to leave India.
Pahalgam attack: Aman Gupta, Kunal Bahl posts on X
Former Snapdeal CEO Kunal Bahl voiced his sorrow and frustration on X, stating “Beauty of Pahalgam from my last trip. Despite people’s fear of going to Kashmir, I have always been the voice that’s been telling those around me to go experience its beauty, culture. Probably the best tourist destination of. I will stop doing that now. Not worth the risk”.
Boat CEO and Shark Tank India judge Aman Gupta shared his sorrow on a social media post. In a heartfelt post on X, Gupta expressed his emotions with the simple words, “No words. Just…”—a poignant reflection of the tragedy’s impact.