Pakistan calls on India to reverse curbs on free speech

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan called upon the international community, particularly the United Nations and human rights organizations, to investigate the extra-judicial killings of Kashmiris by Indian occupation forces.

Addressing the weekly press conference on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesperson said Pakistan will continue to support the Kashmiri people in their just struggle against Indian occupation till the realization of their inalienable right to self-determination as promised to them by the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.

“It is no surprise that during the week a dozen Kashmiri youth were arrested in continuing cordon and search operations. India must realize that despite applying all tools of oppression and using state terrorism as a policy, it has failed to subjugate the will of the Kashmiri people,” he added.

He said on July 1, the Indian Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a strong demarche was handed on the Indian government’s blocking of access to 80 accounts on Twitter of Pakistan’s diplomatic missions in Iran, Turkey, Egypt, UN by activating geo-blocking and internet censorship laws.

He said India was conveyed that these Indian actions were against international standards, obligations, norms, and framework of flow of information and reflected the alarming pace of shrinking space for pluralistic voices and curbing of fundamental freedoms including expression and speech in India.

“It is ironic that the world’s so-called largest democracy is exercising censorship, central controls and legalization of majoritarian politics at the expense of democratic ideals like freedom, choice and access to information,” the spokesperson said.

“We call upon the Indian government to stall this slide towards totalitarianism and act responsibly in the comity of nations. We also call upon the people of India to demand accountability of the blatant majoritarianism exercised by their government as an instrument of state policy.”

He said the international community must prevail upon India to reverse its actions that curb free speech and fly in the face of sacred principles enshrined in the UN Charter.

Moreover, the spokesperson said social media platforms needed to demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding fundamental freedoms of speech and expression and abide by international norms and standards by ensuring integrity of the digital communication interface.

He urged Twitter to reverse the withholding of four official, verified digital assets that are not in contravention of any local or international laws.

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