Twitter 'relocates' users in Gilgit-Baltistan to India, blocks access to Pak govt account

Twitter has reportedly bloc­ked access to Pakistan government’s official account in Gilgit-Baltistan and chan­ged the region’s location to parts of India, Dawn reported on Monday.

As per the Pakistani daily, when users turn on the location feature on the app, tweets sent from the region are marked as originating from Kashmir in India. Users hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan reported that they are unable to access the government’s official Twitter account. When users tried to access the account, an error message is popping up saying “account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand”.

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“I am in #GilgitBaltistan & @Twitter can’t show tweets from @GovtofPakistan, saying that account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand! Hello @TwitterSupport, I’m in Pakistan why can’t I see tweets from various accounts I follow including the one mentioned?,” tweeted Yasir Hussain, a resident of Rahimabad area of Gilgit.

I am in #GilgitBaltistan & @Twitter can't show tweets from @GovtofPakistan, saying that account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand! Hello @TwitterSupport, I'm in Pakistan why can't I see tweets from various accounts I follow including the one mentioned? pic.twitter.com/JVoxQLddpM

— Yasir (@yasirhunzai1) July 6, 2023

Hussain informed Dawn that when he tried to add a location to his tweets, he found that the app was labelling him as being in India’s ‘Jammu and Kashmir’ rather than Gilgit-Baltistan. He further noted officials in Pakis­tan should take “serious cognisance” of this matter as India “might have influenced Twitter to change GB’s geo-tagging”.

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Another Twitter user, Karim Shah Nizari also reported that he can’t add Pakistan’s location to his tweets. “The only option we are getting is Jammu and Kashmir.” However, the Pakistani officials have termed the claim “baseless” despite the fact that many are raising such concerns. “There are no restrictions on the freedom of the internet, media and expression in the entire Gilgit Baltistan,” officials said.

The Gilgit-Baltistan government also said that those making such claims on social media should stop spreading fake news. The government’s official account has been banned in India since March 2023. In 2022, the account was withheld twice over “legal complaints”.