ISLAMABAD: The Government of Pakistan has urged foreign social media companies to establish offices within the country and cooperate by sharing user data and deleting accounts operated by terrorists.
In a press conference held in Islamabad, Minister of State Talal Chaudhry and Legal Adviser to the Prime Minister, Barrister Aqeel, emphasized that under the National Action Plan, the government is actively targeting digital terrorism.
They asserted that terrorists will not be allowed to exploit freedom of expression to spread their narrative.
Pakistan has called for global cooperation against digital terrorism, urging social media platforms to implement automated content-blocking systems and grant access to user data.
Talal Chaudhry stated that the government is building barriers against terrorism, not curbing freedom of speech.
He revealed that hundreds of terrorist-linked social media accounts have been identified.
He further pointed out that the United Nations has sanctioned groups like ISKP and TTP, while the U.S. and U.K. have declared BLA a terrorist organization.
Groups such as TTP, ISKP, BLA, and BLF are using social media for propaganda and recruitment.
Currently, over 2,417 complaints related to terrorism on social media are under review.
The government insists that companies must use AI to promptly remove such harmful content.
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During the same press conference, Barrister Aqeel stated that spreading terrorist propaganda on social media is a punishable offense under Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
