Pakistan has temporarily suspended the services of social media platforms in the country in view of the anti-French protests in the country.
There were fierce protests in Pakistan over the arrest of Saad Rizvi. AFP
Pakistan has temporarily suspended the services of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp on Friday. Imran Khan’s government has taken this decision regarding the violent protests taking place in the country. Anti-French protests are taking place in Pakistan led by Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). This demonstration has taken a violent form and hundreds of people have been injured in it.
The Imran government also officially banned TLP on Thursday evening as the situation worsened. Last year, France’s controversial magazine Sharley Hebdo made a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. Since then, the TLP has been demanding the government to expel the French ambassador from the country. TLP has said that it is blasphemous and for this the French ambassador will have to leave the country. On Sunday, the head of the TLP Saad Rizvi (Saad Rizvi) was arrested from Lahore.
So far, more than 300 people injured in violent clashes
After this, the raging TLP supporters started demonstrating in major cities across the country. Earlier this week, the protesters had violent clashes with policemen and law enforcement agencies. The situation of the country has started to look like civil war. So far, more than 300 policemen have been injured in these violent clashes. Saad Rizvi has been continuously pressurizing the Government of Pakistan since the controversial cartoon. Let me tell you that TLP is identified as a radical Islamic party of Pakistan.
Government took this step to prevent protesters from gathering
To stop the demonstrations after Friday prayers in Pakistan, the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to suspend the social media platform from 11 am to 3 pm. The PTA said in a notification that people’s access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and Telegram) is completely blocked. However, the PTA did not give a reason for suspending the service in the notification. But official sources said that the government fears that the protesters may gather through social media.
France asked its citizens to leave Pakistan
On the other hand, France on Thursday advised its citizens present in Pakistan to leave the country immediately. The French embassy in Islamabad instructed its citizens and companies to leave the country temporarily. In an email, the embassy said that French interests in Pakistan are in serious danger, so French citizens and French companies are advised to leave the country temporarily. French citizens can use commercial airlines to leave Pakistan.
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