According to the latest reports, the official Twitter account of the Pakistan government is withheld in India. This is the third time in past few months when the users in India are not able to access the Pakistan Governments Twitter account GovtofPakistan in India. If anyone in India is trying to access the account, it says, “Account Withheld @GovtofPakistans account is withheld in India in response to legal demand. However, the reason for the same has not been ascertained yet by the Indian officials.Reportedly, this is the third time when the official account of government of Pakistan is withheld in India. Earlier in October 2022 the account was banned in India, and before that it was withheld in July 2022 as well but had been reactivated later on and was visible in India.Other Twitter accounts of Pakistan also banned in IndiaIn June of last year, Twitter in India blocked the official accounts of the Pakistani embassies in Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and the United Nations. For disseminating “false, anti-India information” online in August, India shut eight YouTube news channels, including one from Pakistan and one Facebook account.The measure was done by imposing emergency powers under the Information Technology Regulations, 2021, according to a statement from the Ministry of Information and Media. It was found that the banned Indian YouTube channels were using sensationalised and fake thumbnails, images of news anchors, and the logos of particular TV news programmes to deceive viewers into thinking the material was real.However, the reason for blocking the account is still awaited from Twitter, India and Pakistan officials. Meanwhile, the Twitter account of GovtofPakistan is available to view in countries like Unites States and Canada. Notably, the companys policies in such a way that they can oblige it to withhold all the funds in response to legitimate legal requirements, such as court order.It is worth noting that this is not the first time when the Pakistans government account is with held in India. However, reason for this temporary blockage is unclear, and the response is still awaited from the official authorities.EU removed Pakistan from high-risk countries listIn the meantime, Pakistans inclusion on the European Unions list of “High-Risk Third Countries” has been revoked because of its insufficient counterterrorism finance and anti-money laundering policies. Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also applauded the decision of European Union and sees it as a good step forward for the nations industries, which are currently having financial issues. This action has also been praised as a significant step forward for Pakistan by the European Union delegation in Pakistan.According to an official tweet from European Union, in keeping with the Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) decision to omit Pakistan from its list of nations requiring enhanced surveillance, Pakistan has now been taken off the list. The FATF is a multinational agency that keeps an eye on the financing of terrorism and money laundering.According to the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce, Pakistani businesses doing business with the European Union faced increased regulatory hurdles as a result of Pakistans entry on the list in 2018. So, it is anticipated that Pakistans removal from this list will lessen the regulatory burden on Pakistani businesses and ease trade with the 27-member union.
