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Tag: protest

  • Centre will listen to farmers, says Tikait on Bharat Bandh

    Centre will listen to farmers, says Tikait on Bharat Bandh

    Tikait further said that no matter how long we have to stretch this protest, “We will not step back.” …reports Asian Lite News.

    Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait, who has been leading the farmers’ protest on the outskirts of the national capital for the past 10 months, said that he is certain that Monday’s Bharat Bandh (nationwide shutdown) will compel the Centre to listen to the voice of farmers.

    Tikait said, “We are hopeful that this time government will listen to our demands.”

    Denying that farmers only from western Uttar Pradesh are participating in this protest, he said, “Farmers from all over India are with us,” adding that this movement is not just restricted to any one region.

    Tikait further said that no matter how long we have to stretch this protest, “We will not step back.”

    Farmers mainly from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been protesting at Delhi borders against the three contentious farm laws introduced by the Centre almost a year ago. The bills are as follows: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020.

    Having borne the harsh cold, sultry heat, heavy rains, farmers, who have been camping outside of Delhi-Haryana and Delhi-UP border, are ready to stay as long as it is needed. “Ruk jayenge 10 mahine aur (will stay for 10 more months),” said Tikait.

    This was the third Bharat Bandh since the three agricultural laws were passed by Parliament.

    He also said that the success of Bharat Bandh depends on the media as well. “If they will cover it properly and show everything that has been happening on the ground then this Bharat Bandh will be a success, otherwise not,” Tikait said.

    As far as government is concerned, they will say whatever suits their narrative and benefits them the most, the farmer union leader said.

    He further said that he does not think that this Bharat Bandh will affect people’s daily life, “People are disturbed with the rising inflation and prices of petrol and diesel. That is bothering them the most. This one-day deal is nothing in comparison to what problems masses have been facing in their daily lives.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njOH7heU21c

    On political parties attempting to grind their own axes in the veil of supporting farmers’ cause, Rakesh said, “This is what political parties do.”

    While addressing the farmers and mediapersons, the leader also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his recent trip to the United States of America (USA) by saying, “On his US trip he met people there, here we have been asking him to meet us once for so long but he (PM) is not willing to meet us.”

    In the afternoon, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Anil Chaudhary visited the protest site at the Ghazipur border to show solidarity with the farmers. He and Rakesh Tikait had a small talk over snacks.

    ALSO READ-MoUs signed with private companies for pilot projects for farmers

  • Four protests held outside UN during PM’s speech

    Four protests held outside UN during PM’s speech

    The organisers of the other three protests disowned the Khalistanis and said they were not associated with them, pointing to the barriers separating them from that group…reports Arul Louis

    Four separate sparsely-attended protests were held outside the UN on Saturday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the the United Nations General Assembly.

    The groups were separated from each other in enclosures put up with police barriers, advocating different causes.

    https://twitter.com/aarifshaah/status/1441800668843364358

    The biggest group of them was that of about 100 Khalistan supporters waving yellow flags and carrying portraits of Simranjit Singh Mann, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar).

    The organisers of the other three protests disowned the Khalistanis and said they were not associated with them, pointing to the barriers separating them from that group.

    One of the groups was the Indian National Overseas Congress, which supports the Congress in India and was protesting against what they said were human rights violations.

    Another was a protest organised by a local gurdwara in support of the farmers’ agitation in India focused solely on the agriculturists’ issues.

    They stationed themselves far from the Khalistanis and an organiser said that they did not have anything to do with that protest and distinguished themselves with green turbans.

    The Hindus for Human Rights (HHR) organised yet another protest that

    An organiser said that they were not associating themselves with the Khalistanis and their enclosed barrier next to that group’s was assigned by the police.

    HHR protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and other laws and regulations, as well as what they called human rights violations and detention of activists in India.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ945tj6rSg

    They were joined by a representative of the New York State Council of Churches, a protestant organisation that also lists the World Council of Churches among its members.

    Its executive director, Peter Cook, a protestant pastor who said he had been deported from India, asserted that his organisation opposed the CAA even though it gave citizenship rights to Christians fleeing persecution, because it “pits Christians against Muslims”.

    The Khalistani protesters, who were not allowed by the police to demonstrate outside India’s mission to the UN, drove past it in cars flying their flags and raising slogans.

    Supporters of Kashmiri separatists and Pakistanis, who held protests in the previous years, were not seen this time.

    ALSO READ-Modi Targets Pakistan At UNGA

    READ MORE-Jaishankar recalls big takeaways from Modi speech

  • Balochs, Sindhis pay tribute to Sardar Attaullah in London

    Balochs, Sindhis pay tribute to Sardar Attaullah in London

    On September 13, hundreds of people also took to the streets in protest against such killings in Panjgur district in Balochistan province, local media reported…reports Asian Lite News.

    Human rights defenders from Baloch, Sindhis and other communities living in the UK paid tribute to Sardar Attaullah Mengal who was one of the prominent faces of Baloch national struggle after Pakistan annexed the region in 1948.

    The commemoration was organised by the Sindhi Baloch Forum (SBF) in London on Sunday, in which speakers highlighted various aspects of the political and nationalistic struggle of late Sardar Mengal, Beloch Affairs reported.

    Sardar Mengal had devoted his life to the service of the Baloch people. He fought for a future where the Baloch people can live with dignity and with their cherished socio-cultural values against the atrocities of Islamabad.

    Earlier, a photo exhibition was also organised at Broken Chair, a famous icon in front of the United Nations office in Geneva, highlighting the atrocities and the human rights abuses in Balochistan.

    It highlighted the genocide of the indigenous Baloch people being carried out by Pakistan. It also highlighted how Pakistan had illegally occupied Balochistan against all International laws and treaties and continues to misgovern it till date. The region lags behind in almost every parameter of development.

    Today Balochistan’s Human Development Index (HDI) ranks below 0.40 as compared to the other provinces of Pakistan that lie above 0.50. Within Pakistan, Balochistan lags far behind other provinces and 15 out of Pakistan’s least-developed districts are in Balochistan.

    Meanwhile, enforced disappearances and arbitrary killings of Balochs have also become a new ‘normal in the region’.

    On September 13, hundreds of people also took to the streets in protest against such killings in Panjgur district in Balochistan province, local media reported.

    A large number of people, including women and children, gathered at the main chowk of the town. They marched on the streets and roads and chanted slogans against the local administration and police for their failure to arrest alleged killers, reported Dawn.

    During the protest, people said about a dozen innocent civilians had been killed in Panjgur in a month, but not a single alleged killer had been arrested. (ANI)

    ALSO READ-Hundreds protest against targeted killings in Balochistan

  • Free Balochistan protest held against Pakistan in Hanover

    Free Balochistan protest held against Pakistan in Hanover

    The rally participants held banners and placards with slogans against torture, human rights abuses and illegal occupation of Balochistan by Pakistan and Iran…reports Asian Lite News.

    The Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) held a protest rally in Hanover, Germany against the “fake encounters” in Balochistan province staged by Pakistani forces.

    According to release by the movement, the protest began at 2:00 pm German time in front of the Hannover Central Station in Germany after the protesters marched through various streets to George Platz.

    The rally participants held banners and placards with slogans against torture, human rights abuses and illegal occupation of Balochistan by Pakistan and Iran.

    Participants also carried pictures of enforced disappeared people who were killed in staged encounters by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Participants chanted slogans during the demonstration and distributed hundreds of pamphlets to spread awareness among the people.

    The protesters were addressed by scores of Baloch people who accused Pakistan of atrocities in occupied Balochistan. The speakers said that Pakistan was pursuing its earlier infamous “kill and dump” policy of forcibly disappearing Baloch, it continued the same process by killing the disappeared Baloch and burying them in mass graves.

    The speakers explained that now the Pakistan state forces have adopted a new policy under which the victims of enforced disappearances are fake encounters. They raised the issue of over 20 fake encounters in a single month.

    The FBM in its statement further said that Pakistan has changed the method of Baloch genocide to misled the world. “Pakistan is trying to give the impression to the world that it is taking action against the terrorists by killing the Baloch in its custody in the name of encounters by its terrorist force CTD.”

    The statement clarified that the people killed in CTD’s encounters were previously abducted and disappeared by Pakistani forces and they were being killed in staged encounters to cover up Pakistan’s crimes against humanity in Balochistan. (ANI)

    ALSO READ-Balochistan blast kills Pak Army captain

    READ MORE-SPECIAL: Travails of Balochistan

  • Climate change activists block Central London

    Climate change activists block Central London

    “We need to take drastic actions now. People in countries further south are suffering terribly, there are already wars over resources because of climate change,” she stressed…reports Asian Lite News.

    Hundreds of people on Tuesday blocked roads around Parliament Street and Whitehall, in central London, on the second day of the Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest to demand urgent actions from governments to tackle climate change, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

    Several protesters lied in the middle of the street in front of a large green banner reading “Government in bed with climate criminals,” while others chanted and danced to the beat of drums.

    “We’re here because the government is not telling us the truth about the reality of climate change and what it will mean to our children and grandchildren and for all the generations that will come after them,” Mary, one of the XR members, told Sputnik.

    According to the activist, authorities in the United Kingdom and across the world are trying to hide from people that climate is already breaking down and that there will be shortages of food and water because of this, and what is worst “they are not taking any action to stop this from happening.”

    Asked about the UK government’s pledges to achieve the ‘net zero’ target by 2050 and boost the use of electric vehicles as part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s “Green Revolution,” Mary said they are “too little too late.”

    “We need to take drastic actions now. People in countries further south are suffering terribly, there are already wars over resources because of climate change,” she stressed.

    Juliana, a Brazilian national who joined the protest with her children, said she had brought them with her because “their future is at stake”

    The so-called “Impossible Rebellion,” which XR said will last two weeks, started on Monday, with protests in other parts of central London. The ecological movement is also planning to target the City – the heart of UK’s financial sector – to protest against banks financing fossil fuel companies.

    The protests have been peaceful so far, but the Metropolitan Police confirmed that a “number of arrests” have been made. (ANI/Sputnik)

    ALSO READ-UK to accept 20k Afghan refugees

    READ MORE-UK to double humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan

  • Protest in Paris against Chinese atrocities

    Protest in Paris against Chinese atrocities

    During the demonstration, protestors organised street plays to depict China’s crack down on critics …reports Asian Lite News

    On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, anti-China and dissident groups including Tibetans, Uyghurs, the Falun Gong and Mongolians gathered in front of the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday to protest against the abusive policies of the Chinese regime.

    During the demonstration, the protestors enacted street plays to depict how China was muzzling the voices of dissent and carrying out human rights abuses against the various ethnic groups, especially Uyghurs.

    Ethnic groups stage protest in Paris against China’s abusive policies on CCP centenary( Pic credits ANI)

    China has earned the ire of the international community for gross human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in an attempt to erase their cultural identity. Reportedly, over two million Uyghurs are detained in internment camps in Xinjiang, where they endure torture, indoctrination and other atrocities.

    Meanwhile, in what is believed to be a historic decision, a Paris court has called for an investigation in “concealment of crimes against humanity” against clothing brands like Zara, Uniqlo and SMCP because their products are made through forced labour by Uyghurs.

    ALSO READ: PEW STUDY: Xi Dents China’s Image Abroad

    The decision of the court was following a complaint filed by Uyghur Institute Europe, Sherpa and the Bourdon Law firm. The investigation will be carried out by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s office. Earlier, the United States had announced a series of actions aimed against forced labour in China’s Xinjiang.

    Ethnic groups stage protest in Paris against China’s abusive policies on CCP centenary( Pic credits ANI)

    The Biden administration seeks to ensure that the US continues to remove goods made with forced labour from the supply chains through actions by the Department of Homeland Security’s US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Labor.

    “These actions demonstrate our commitment to imposing additional costs on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for engaging in cruel and inhumane forced labour practices and ensuring that Beijing plays by the rules of fair trade as part of the rules-based international order.

    The United States believes that state-sponsored forced labour in Xinjiang is both an affront to human dignity and an example of the PRC’s unfair economic practices,” the White House said.

    ALSO READ: China Targets Uyghurs Living Abroad To Suppress Protest

    ALSO READ: CCP@100: Xi Vows China Will Never Be Bullied

  • Myanmar junta detaining protesters’ families

    Myanmar junta detaining protesters’ families

    Global rights groups have called for unconditional release all those wrongfully held and end all collective punishment….reports Anwesha Bhaumik

    Myanmar security forces are arbitrarily arresting and detaining family and friends of activists, protesters and opposition members.

    The trend is increasing, says global rights groups, who demand the authorities should immediately and unconditionally release all those wrongfully held and end all collective punishment.

    Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, security forces have detained at least 76 people, including an infant, during raids when they were unable to find the person they sought to arrest, according to documentation by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

    At least 48 of those people are still in detention, with some now held for more than three months.

    “Seizing family members and friends as hostages is a thuggish tactic by Myanmar’s security forces to terrorize the population and coerce activists to turn themselves in,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

    “The authorities should end the practice of collective punishment immediately and release everyone held on this illegal basis.”

    Security forces unable to find specific suspects have arrested their parents, children, other relatives, and friends who happened to be present during the search.

    On March 8, security forces searching for lawyer Robert San Aung seized his daughter and brother-in-law and held them for 18 days before releasing them.

    ALSO READ: 100,000 flee as violence spikes in Myanmar

    On April 22, security forces searching for Pu Do Sian Pau, a member of the opposition Civil Disobedience Movement, seized his mother and his 70-year-old father, a retired pastor of the Cope Memorial Baptist Church. Both are still in detention.

    On April 29, security forces searching for Salai Bawi Uk Thang, the editor-in-chief of the Chinland Post newspaper, detained his father. He is still in detention.

    On May 23, security forces arrested the parents and younger brother of a striking worker from the fire department. All three relatives are still in detention.

    In some cases, witnesses allege that the security forces beat the relatives before detaining them.

    Tin Htut Paing, an activist who is in hiding, told the media that, on May 2, security forces searching for him and his brother beat his 90-year-old grandmother and 64-year-old mother.

    Security forces detained his mother and charged her with “incitement”. On May 28, she was sentenced to three years in prison.

    According to the AAPP, security forces searching for Associate Judge Kaung Myat Thu of Chaung-U Township Court beat his mother before arresting her. His mother is still in detention

    Young children and even an infant have also been detained, at least temporarily. Security forces detained five relatives of strike leader Ko Jay Lah, including two girls aged two and four.

    Similarly, forces searching for protest leader U Tan Win detained his wife and 20-day-old baby.

    While in both cases the family members were released later the same day, the arrests send a chilling message to activists and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement that no member of their family is safe, HRW’s Robertson said.

    Myanmar refugees staged a protest against China’s support to the new military rule in Myanmar at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday 03rd March, 2021. (Photo: IANS)

    The detention of people based solely on their relationship to another person is a form of collective punishment, which violates the right to liberty and security of person and the right to a fair trial.

    “Myanmar’s junta has taken unlawful detention to a noxious new level by detaining those close to people who themselves should not be facing arrest,” Robertson said.

    “Concerned governments should urgently impose targeted sanctions and a global arms embargo or expect the junta to continue to raise the stakes on abusive actions.”

    Last month, the Burmese army Tatmadaw used villagers as shields during their attempt to regain control of the Mindat town in the Chin Hills.

    “Using civilians as shield is a gross violation of the rules of war,” said Amrita Dey, an author of a volume on Myanmar.

    “The Tatmadaw is crossing all limits.”

    ALSO READ: Beijing’s support for Myanmar junta grows

  • UK witnesses George Floyd commemorations

    UK witnesses George Floyd commemorations

    The demonstrations are also being held as a way of calling for better action to tackle institutional racism within Britain…reports Asian Lite News

    People across the UK will be taking the knee on Tuesday evening to mark the one-year death anniversary of George Floyd, the African-American who was killed in police custody in the US city of Minneapolis on this day last year.

    It is part of events planned worldwide to commemorate his death, reports dpa news agency.

    The demonstration, which has been organised by campaigners Stand Up To Racism and the UK’s Trade Union Congress, will see people in cities and towns across England, Scotland and Wales show their support for black lives.

    The demonstration involves people kneeling down on one knee at 5 p.m. in memory of Floyd, who died after police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on his neck for almost nine minutes in an act of police brutality.

    ALSO READ: Priti unveils UK digital visa

    The demonstrations are also being held as a way of calling for better action to tackle institutional racism within Britain.

    The act of taking a knee is inspired by former US football player Colin Kaepernick, who first took the knee during the US national anthem at a football game in 2016 in protest against racial injustice and how black people are treated by police in the US.

    Floyd’s death prompted a wave of protests around the world and sparked conversations about how black people still face discrimination.

    US President Joe Biden will meet Floyd’s family later Tuesday.

    According to data from Mapping Police Violence, a further 140 black people died at the hands of police in the US after Floyd’s death last year.

    The total was 248.

    This year, 89 people have so far died at the hands of US police officers.

    ALSO READ: UK starts preparations for trade negotiations with India

  • Armed resistance in Mindat against Myanmar military

    Armed resistance in Mindat against Myanmar military

    The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one…reports Anwesha Bhaumik

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS3jZ1Nw_sA

    Heavy fighting continued in Mindat town in Myanmar’s Chin state on Saturday, as civilian fighters fought the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw, braving heavy artillery barrages.

    Two more resistance fighters died on Friday, bringing the death toll to three, said a spokesman of the resistance who called himself “John”.

    “John” told IANS the Mindat Defense Force were not taking cognisance of a declaration of martial law by the Myanmar military junta.

    “We just don’t care for such declarations. We will fight on and not allow the Tatmadaw enter our town,” said John.

    The armed resistance at Mindat marks a dramatic transformation of the pro-democracy movement from a peaceful protest agitation to an armed one, that could dramatically escalate Myanmar’s civil war so far restricted to ethnic border regions like Kachin, Karen and Rakhine provinces.

    A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)

    While hundreds of Burmese protesters have fled and joined armed resistance groups like the Federal Army and United Defence Force and are now receiving training at Karen and Kachin rebel bases, the defence by Chin boys and girls armed with just hunting rifles and gunpowder used locally is turning into an epic symbol of the resistance.

    The junta describes the Chin resistance fighters as ‘armed terrorists’.

    John said the Mindat Defense Force is just 300-400 boys and girls with a sprinkling of local police and former Chin insurgents, armed with barely 100 hunting rifles, but adept at using the hill terrain to tie down a demoralised Burmese army.

    He said the Tatmadaw is pounding the Mindat town with artillery from a base in Magwe 33 km away.

    ALSO READ:China alarmed after Myanmar protestors attacked strategic pipeline station

    “They have also brought in snipers who killed two of our fighters,” John told IANS.

    “We are not able to retrieve the two dead bodies or rescue the wounded since the junta troops are opening fire on anyone who appears on the streets.”

    A Myanmar police officer

    “The junta troops are trying to enter into the town via both the west and east entrances while we are protecting our town. Fighting at the east side of the town is intensifying. Shootouts also occurred downtown,” he added.

    The civilian resistance fighters also reportedly seized about six military vehicles from Kyaukhtu that were approaching Mindat during the shootouts.

    A viral video on social media shows weapons and provisions on about six vehicles abandoned by the fleeing junta troops being taken by Chin civilian resistance fighters.

    Local residents also said that at least five junta troops were reportedly killed during the shootouts on the east side of the town on Friday.

    Fighting between junta troops and the Mindat Defense Force resumed on Wednesday night after a ceasefire in late April broke down.

    The military regime declared martial law for Mindat on Thursday night after bombarding the town with artillery in response to the residents’ week-long resistance.

    Under martial law, those who commit one of 23 “offenses” in the town will be tried in military courts and face penalties ranging from death, indefinite jail terms with labor and the maximum possible punishments under existing legislation, said orders signed by the military regime’s secretary Lieutenant-General Aung Lin Dwe.

    Myanmar protests

    The 23 offenses also include high treason, sedition, obstruction of military personnel and civil servants performing their duties, possession of weapons, ties to unlawful associations and violence.

    However, the martial law declaration has had no effect on the town since 60 per cent of Mindat is under the control of its residents, said a member of Mindat’s People Administration, who identified himself as “Lian”.

    “Our people do not accept the marital law. Currently, we are concentrating on the shootouts. We can govern the whole town, except the police station and some places,” Lian said.

    ALSO READ:Myanmar junta bans satellite TV, Internet

    Since 6 p.m. on Thursday, shootouts started on the Mindat-Matupi highway, which is located on the west edge of the town.

    Mindat Defense Force fighters defended the approach to the town against about 11 vehicles carrying 250 junta troops on a probing mission.

    Security guards are seen at the entrance of the City Hall in Yangon, Myanmar

    Meanwhile shootouts have been happening on the highway connecting Mindat and Magwe region’s Kyaukhtu on the east side of the town since Thursday morning.

    Civilian resistance fighters there are fighting against about 180 junta troops from Kyaukhtu that are approaching the town.

    Also, civilian resistance fighters resisting junta troops at the east side of the town have also been attacked by artillery based in Kyaukhtu, John told IANS.

    Mindat Defense Force said in its statement on Friday that the military has used reinforced troops, heavy explosives, artillery, rocket propelled grenades and automatic machine guns in the shootouts with civilian resistance fighters.

    In the firefights, most civilian resistance fighters are using traditional percussion lock firearms, a kind of hunting rifle.

    The firearm uses technology dating back to the early 19th century.

    On Friday, residents were told by the Mindat’s People Administration to dig bomb shelters as two military helicopters were hovering over the town.

    Photo taken on Feb. 1, 2021 shows a resting place for federal parliamentarians blocked by the military in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.(Photo by U Soe/Xinhua/ians)

    On Thursday night, shootouts between junta troops and resistance fighters occurred at Mindat’s police station near the headquarters of the military’s Battalion 274.

    After the initial encounters, the Tatmadaw troops opened indiscrminate fire on the town.

    In Thursday’s encounter, an ethnically Chin teenager was killed and six other members of Chin state’s civilian resistance forces were wounded by junta artillery.

    Armed resistance by Mindat residents started on April 26 with an attack on the police station after junta forces broke promises to release seven young anti-regime protesters.

    On April 26 and 27, the Mindat Defense Force attacked military reinforcements approaching the town using homemade percussion lock firearms, leaving at least 20 junta troops dead.

    The military casualties led to talks with residents and a ceasefire in April that broke down this week.

    ALSO READ: Myanmar’s beauty queen picks up guns

  • Pakistan blocks Social media amid protests

    Pakistan blocks Social media amid protests

    “Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” said an official…reports Asian Lite News

    Pakistan on Friday blocked social media platforms amid fears that activists of a radical Islamist group might use the technology to stoke violent protests against last year’s depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in France.

    Followers of far-right Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a group that supports the country’s controversial blasphemy laws, have blocked roads and chocked streets at deadly protests that started on Monday, reports dpa news agency.

    The protesters are demanding that the government fulfil an earlier promise to expel the French Ambassador by April 20 over the publication of a cartoon depicting the prophet last year.

    At least five people including two police officers have been killed in the protests, which have prompted the France Embassy in Islamabad to urge French nationals to leave Pakistan temporarily.

    “Social media has been blocked for a few hours so that troublemakers can not use it during Friday prayers congregations,” an official told dpa.

    Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok are inaccessible across the country, including the capital Islamabad.

    Political parties, Islamist groups and militant organisations like Pakistani Taliban heavily rely on social media platforms to connect with their followers.

    Also read:Imran Blames Women As Rape Cases Soar in Pakistan