Report: Twitter Surprises Pakistan by Relocating Gilgit-Baltistan Users to Jammu and Kashmir
The matter gained attention when numerous Twitter users in Gilgit-Baltistan raised concerns about their inability to access the official government account from their region.
Gilgit-Baltistan – According to a report by Dawn, Twitter has allegedly restricted access to Pakistan’s official Twitter account in Gilgit-Baltistan and is displaying the region’s location within the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a Pakistani newspaper in English, tweets sent from a specific region are still identified as originating from Jammu and Kashmir, even when users enable the location feature on the app. The local residents have taken explicit actions by adjusting their Twitter location settings and blocking access to the official account of the Pakistani government.
The problem was brought to attention when numerous Twitter users in Gilgit-Baltistan expressed their inability to access the official account of the government from their region.
Upon attempting to access the account, users were greeted with a message indicating that the “account has been restricted in India due to a legal request”.
Despite numerous reports suggesting otherwise, Pakistani officials dismissed the allegations as unfounded and denied any modifications in the situation. They asserted that there were no limitations on internet freedom, media access, and freedom of expression throughout Gilgit Baltistan.
The government’s official account has been prohibited in India since March 2023. It had previously faced two instances of withholding in 2022 due to “legal complaints”.
According to the newspaper Dawn, Yasir Hussain, a resident of Gilgit’s Rahimabad area, expressed his frustration on Twitter. He tweeted, “I am currently in #GilgitBaltistan, and @Twitter is unable to display tweets from @GovtofPakistan. It claims that the account has been withheld in India due to a legal request. Hello @TwitterSupport, I am in Pakistan, so why am I unable to view tweets from several accounts I follow, including the mentioned one?”
During an interview with Dawn, Hussain mentioned that when he attempted to include his location in his tweets, he discovered that the app identified him as being in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir instead of Gilgit Baltistan.
Hussain emphasized the importance of Pakistani officials paying close attention to this issue, suggesting that India may have influenced Twitter to modify the geotagging of Gilgit Baltistan.
Another Twitter user, Karim Shah Nizari, echoed similar concerns, reporting that he was unable to select Pakistan as the location for his tweets. He noted that the only available option was Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Mr. Nizari, who spoke to Dawn, he resides in the Yasin Valley of Ghizer district. However, he expressed that the Twitter algorithm was displaying tweets from India in his feed, which was not aligned with his actual location.
The government of Gilgit Baltistan urged individuals spreading such claims on social media to cease disseminating false information.
According to Dawn, users from Gilgit Baltistan expressed their discontent, stating that the social media platform had shown disrespect towards the region’s status. They considered it an assault on the identity of Gilgit-Baltistan.
