Pakistan's Punjab province set to ban social media platforms for 6 days during Muharram
Lahore (PTI): The government in Pakistan's Punjab province is now set to ban all social media platforms -- YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok -- for six days between July 13 and 18, citing the need to control "hate material" during the Islamic month of Muharram.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's cabinet committee on law and order has recommended banning all social media platforms -- YouTube, X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, among others -- during the 6th to 11th day of Muharram (July 13-18) in Punjab, a province of over 120 million people, to "control hate material, misinformation to avoid sectarian violence", according to a notification issued here late Thursday night.
The Punjab government has also requested her uncle Shehbaz Sharif's government at the Centre to notify the suspension of all social media platforms on the internet for six days (July 13-18).
The provincial government has decided to go beyond the routine measures of internet suspension and mobile jamming over Ashura, after getting reports that ‘external forces’, including elements from across the border, were involved in the sharing of hate content and memes, Dawn News reported.
Sources said the Punjab government had initially deliberated that social media apps be shut down on Muharram 9 and 10.
Muharram -- the period of recalling and mourning the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain by the community of Shia Muslims -- marks the first month of the Islamic Calendar.
A greater amount of importance is placed on the first ten days of the festival. On the tenth day, Shia Muslims take out processions via streets.
Cabinet Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani acknowledged that the cabinet committee had put forward a suggestion to close social media apps to avoid dissemination of hate content.
Kirmani said a meeting over the issue discussed that hate content increases manifolds on social media apps, particularly Facebook and X during Muharram, which eventually becomes a bone of contention between two sects instead of the two persons involved.
“Dissemination of hate content creates bad blood and spoils the overall environment, particularly during Muharram,” he said and added that shutting down social media apps was recommended before, during and a day after Muharram.
Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir has already declared social media a "vicious media" and underscored the need to fight what he called "digital terrorism".
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, who also holds the portfolio of foreign minister, recently called for placing a complete ban on social media.
The Shehbaz Sharif government had shut down X last February following allegations of change of general election results by the Election Commission of Pakistan, apparently on the order of the military establishment to stop Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's jailed founder Imran Khan from coming to power.
Both the military and the government have been receiving backlash on social media since the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.
The government has arrested dozens of social media activists of Khan's party since then.
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Gurugram/New Delhi: A case involving a former Ashoka University student has drawn attention after her parents alleged she went missing and sought a probe into an alleged network, while court records indicate that the woman had left home voluntarily and sought legal protection to live independently.
According to The Print, the parents, who are both academics, have approached the Haryana State Commission for Women, alleging that their daughter was manipulated and used by university officials. They have requested a probe by the National probe Agency and have named multiple individuals, including academic members, researchers, and students, in their complaints.
However, the university stated that the woman ceased to be a student in May 2023 and that its instructors and staff have no participation in the situation.
According to documentation in the case, the woman, who was 22 at the time, left her Rohtak home on October 24, 2023. In her written communication with police officers and the station house officer in Sonipat, she stated that she had departed on her own accord, alleging years of physical and emotional abuse at home and demanding secrecy regarding her location.
She subsequently recorded a statement before a magistrate under provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. She affirmed her decision to live independently and in later complaints, she alleged continued attempts by her family to contact her and sought police protection.
Court records from the Delhi High Court show that she appeared in person before the court in May 2024 and stated that she wished to choose her own way of life and did not want to interact with her family. The court noted her statement and recorded that she was a major acting of her own volition.
In a subsequent order, the court noted that she had been provided police protection since November 2023 and was residing independently, granting her liberty to approach the court again if required.
The parents, meanwhile, have maintained that their daughter was a meritorious student and alleged that she was traced earlier to premises linked to university staff. They also raised concerns over financial transactions and a name change, which they claim point to a larger network.
At the centre of their allegations is Bittu Kaveri Rajaraman, an associate professor at the university. No response has been issued by the individuals named in the complaint so far.
After the matter was taken up by the women’s commission, chairperson Renu Bhatia said the panel may recommend a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
During the hearings, a lawyer claiming to represent the woman arrived before the commission even though she had not been summoned and the commission has asked for her personal appearance.
