Posting on IoK: PTA raises issue of blocking of 333 Twitter accounts

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has raised the issue of blocking of Twitter accounts and reported to Twitter administration that a total of 333 handles have been suspended for posting tweets about Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. In a latest development, Twitter has sent notice to Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri for raising voice over the ongoing human rights violations in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir (IoK).
Suri has been informed through a letter: "Twitter has received a request from India regarding your tweet account that claims the content violates the laws of India. We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request. As Twitter strongly believes in defending and respecting the voice of our users, it is our policy to notify our users if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity to remove contents from their account." However, the deputy speaker stood his ground and said that he cannot be silenced.
Earlier, Twitter had sent notices to President Dr Arif Alvi and Minister for Communications Murad Saeed along with several other politicians for raising voice over the ongoing human rights violations in the IoK. The recent actions by the social media site have sparked reactions among the masses.
According to the PTA, it has reported a total of 333 handles to the Twitter administration suspended for posting tweets about the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir.
The PTA in addition to raising its concerns with the Twitter administration about the biased approach towards Pakistani Twitter users in strong words has also requested Pakistani social media users to report any Twitter account suspended on the pretext of posting pro-Kashmir content to the PTA at [email protected].
In response, the PTA received 333 such complaints which were sent to Twitter for restoration. However, only 67 accounts (20%) have so far been restored by Twitter. Neither has Twitter responded officially nor has given any reason of suspension of the accounts.
The PTA is already putting in efforts to engage Twitter to ensure freedom of expression for social media users in Pakistan. In this context the PTA has invited Twitter administration for a meeting in Pakistan or elsewhere to have meaningful discussions and devise a workable arrangement. However, Twitter is yet to respond.
It may also be added that under the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act, 2016, the PTA is the sole body to block access to unlawful contents on internet and take up with relevant platforms where blocking by the PTA is not possible on technical grounds. The PTA will keep taking up the matter with Twitter to urge them to discontinue their biased approach towards Pakistani users who are advocating rights of the oppressed people of Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.