In a major humiliation, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif got a community note on his X post in which he congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump. The community note highlighted that Shehbaz Sharif used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access X to congratulate Trump as the social media platform is banned in Pakistan.
In a post on X, Shehbaz Sharif said, "Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump on his historic victory for a second term! I look forward to working closely with the incoming Administration to further strengthen and broaden the Pakistan-U.S. partnership."
The community note on his post read, "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has banned X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan. He is using a VPN to access X, which is unlawful according to Pakistani law." The community note highlighting the unlawful act by the Pak PM triggered a row over social media with people schooling the Pak PM.
Shehbaz Sharif's post on X
One user commented, "You have banned X in Pakistan but are yourself using X to convey official messages. Pakistan is truly a banana republic run by clowns."
Another user commented, "The government has imposed a ban on Twitter in Pakistan, with reports suggesting that even ministers are accessing the platform using VPNs, which is quite an irony for a government that's restricting public access while using the same tools to bypass their own rules."
X ban in Pakistan
Notably, Pakistan's interior ministry in April said that it had blocked access to social media platform X around the time of February's election on national security concerns, confirming a long-suspected shutdown. Users in Pakistan had reported problems using X, formerly known as Twitter, since mid-February, but the government made no official announcement on the matter till April.
The interior ministry mentioned the shutdown in a written submission to Islamabad High Court. "The decision to impose a ban on Twitter/X in Pakistan was made in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation," the ministry report had said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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