Islamabad: In an attempt to combat misinformation following hostilities with India, Pakistan blocked Wednesday in a dozen YouTube Indian channels, 31 video links and 32 websites to spread “false information and anti-pakistan propaganda.”
“This action has been taken to the light of the prevailing regional situation to safeguard national security and protect Pakistan’s digital ecosystem,” said the Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan, and added that the content he blocked was spreading deceptive and harmful narratives aimed at manipulating public perception and undermining the national unity.
On the other hand, IT Minister Shaza Fatima said that the Government frusted several cyber attacks, which blamed India, while a warning of a cybersecurity agency asked citizens to remain attentive to possible cyber attacks in the light of tensions with India.
In the midst of all this, the X Social Network Platform, which was blocked in February last year, returned to life without any official government, according to Netblocks, a global Internet monitor based in the United Kingdom. Netblocks said the platform was restricted by the authorities in February 2024 after it was used to attract attention to the cases of alleged electoral fraud.
The social media platform X (previously Twitter) returns; Certificates internet users to remain attentive
According to IT Minister Shaza Fatima, all relevant institutions, including the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) and the technical wings of the Ministry of IT, were active and had successfully frustrated the recent Indian cyber attacks. He added that a single cyber attack of India had not been allowed to succeed, and Pakistan remained attentive to avoid such attempts in the future.
‘Unveil’
In his statement, the cyber emergency response team (cert) asked the public to distrust possible cyber attacks and continue to monitor confidence cyber security entities to obtain warnings and alerts of threats. “We are doing everything possible to counteract the situation and protect our systems,” Cert, told citizens to avoid clicking suspicious links, unsecured messages, emails or social media links, and use reliable sources for updates.
Posted in Dawn, May 8, 2025
