Pakistan's government has criticised the American social media giant Facebook for blocking the live streaming of news bulletins run by state-run Radio Pakistan, terming it a violation of basic human rights.
Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Ministry Firdous Ashiq Awan said that government will “make efforts for the restoration of the live streaming of Radio Pakistan's news on Facebook”.
The minister said every time the state-run radio service tries to highlight “human rights violations” in Kashmir on social media platforms, “the accounts are suspended”.
Earlier in the day, Radio Pakistan said its live streaming service of news bulletins was blocked for highlighting “Indian atrocities in Kashmir”.
The news coverage exposing “continued atrocities, curfew and military lockdown” led to the blockage, the statement read.
Radio Pakistan has also shared a screenshot message reportedly sent by Facebook in which the American firm claimed that "your post goes against our Community Standards on dangerous individuals and organisations".
A huge number of Pakistani nationals have been venting their ire on social media since the Indian parliament revoked the decades-old temporary special status of Jammu and Kashmir State on 5 August and bifurcated it later into two federally-administered Union Territories.
A number of accounts of Pakistani journalists, activists and even some of government officials were suspended in August, triggering outrage among the people.
The Kashmir region has been a bone of contention for India and Pakistan. Both the nuclear-armed neighbours claim Kashmir in full but rule only part of the region.
