Twitter shoots down Pakistan's request to block Indian documentary on Balochistan

Islamabad: Balochistan has been battling extreme discrimination and virtual genocide since being annexed by the Pakistan Army in 1948. While Pakistan has always tried to block any news about the Pakistan Army’s human rights violations in Balochistan, it has failed to stop reports from trickling out to the international media. Now, an Indian news platform has exposed the Pakistan Army’s atrocities in Balochistan. Although the Pakistan government appealed to Twitter to block the documentary, the social media platform rejected the demand. The request to block the Indian documentary on Twitter was put forward by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) which had claimed that the content violates Pakistani law. News9 plus, the Indian news platform that has made the documentary, released two-part series ‘Balochistan: Bangladesh 2.0’, which investigates alleged gross human rights violations in the neglected south-western province of Pakistan. The documentary also delves into the probable reasons for the regular attacks on Chinese nationals in Balochistan. The News9 documentary describes the rise in alleged killings of the Baloch people by the Pakistan Army. Several geo-political experts have labelled Balochistan as a second Bangladesh, a reference to the erstwhile East Pakistan which broke away with India’s assistance form a separate country in 1971. The spike in violence against Chinese national has been attributed to anger by Baloch rebels over China’s investment plans in Balochistan which aim to turn the province of Pakistan into a colony of China. China has invested heavily in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through the Balochistan. As resentment against China grows in Balochistan, attacks against Chinese nationals in the south western province of Pakistan have seen a surge over the last few years. According to an ANI report, Twitter said they have not taken any action on the PTA objection at this time. “In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that Twitter has received a request from PTA regarding your Twitter account that claims the following content violates law of Pakistan. We have not taken any action on the reported content at this time as a result of this request,” the communication said. Twitter also stated that the social media platform strongly believes in defending and respecting the voices of its users. It also highlighted its policy of notifying Twitter users of any legal request from an authorized entity they receive regarding the removal of content from their accounts. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.