Shehbaz Sharif congratulates Trump on X, gets community note regarding platform ban in Pakistan
The social media platform X was banned in Pakistan in February this year during the time of elections. While activists had criticised the ban, the government defended it by saying it was in national interest.
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.
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)