Pakistan to Ban Social Media Platforms for 6 Days to Control 'Hate Material' During Muharram

The Pakistani government plans to ban all social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Tik Tok for six days during Muharram to prevent the spread of hate material citing concerns about violence. The decision follows previous bans and crackdowns on social media, amid political tensions.

Lahore: After successfully blocking X, formerly Twitter, for over four months, the Pakistan government is now set to ban all social media platforms -- YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok -- for six days from July 13 to 18, citing the need to control "hate material" during the Islamic month of Muharram.

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 --from 6 to 11 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 Punjab government notification issued here late Thursday night.

The Punjab government of Maryam Nawaz has 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). 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".