Here’s what’s happening across the border: Pakistan pays tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a bureaucratic reshuffle in the offing.
Twitter faces shutdown for not removing ‘blasphemous’ posts
The estimated four million Twitter users in Pakistan may soon lose their protest platform of choice. The social media giant faces a ban in Pakistan for reportedly not honouring the administration’s requests to remove “blasphemous” content, reported Dawn.
The Islamabad High Court had asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the country’s telecom regulator, last week to serve a final notice on Twitter for compliance. The PTA told a Senate committee this week that Twitter had not responded to the notice.
“Out of a hundred requests from Pakistan to block certain offensive material, roughly five per cent are entertained. Twitter ignores all the remaining requests,” Nisar Ahmed, director general for internet policy and web analysis at the PTA, said. He added that Facebook and YouTube, which have earlier faced bans of varying durations in Pakistan, had complied with their orders.
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which is set to head the country’s next government, said his party was against any kind of censorship on free media. “Blocking social media websites will have both social and economic impacts,” PTI information secretary Fawad Chaudhry said.
Imran Khan, Musharraf mourn Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Pakistan Prime Minister-elect Imran Khan led tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee after the latter’s death Thursday, reported Dawn. His outreach to Pakistan is touted as one of the strongest point of Vajpayee’s legacy as the Indian premier.
Khan said Vajpayee’s death would create a “void” in south Asian politics. “There can be political differences but the desire of peace remains present across the border. We stand with India in this difficult time,” he added.
The Pakistan foreign ministry issued a statement saying Vajpayee was a “renowned statesman who contributed to bringing a change in India-Pakistan relations and remained a key supporter of SAARC and regional cooperation for development”.
Caretaker law and information minister Syed Ali Zafar will represent Pakistan at Vajpayee’s last rites in New Delhi Friday.
Former president Pervez Musharraf, Vajpayee’s contemporary in office, called him a revolutionary and a gentleman.
Maiza Hameed, a member of the national assembly from the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), tweeted that Vajpayee had “served his country with distinction.”
Journalist Syed Talat Hussain was among the few who criticised Vajpayee, saying people were trying to make Vajpayee sound like “the grandaddy (sic) of peace”.
While condolences are graceful gestures, to make late A B Vajpayee sound like a grandaddy of peace is really over the top. He founded BJP with the help of RSS and carried Gujrat and Ayodhya quietly on his chest. pic.twitter.com/vZvzsMDM5c
— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) August 16, 2018
However, Hussain’s colleagues like Raza Rumi, Omar Quraishi, and Shafi Naqi Jamie acknowledged Vajpayee’s efforts towards peace.
#RIPAtalBihariVaajpayee – former Indian PM and the one who was serious about peace between #India and #Pakistan. Perhaps the best chance that ever was. Statesman and visionary. V few like him today in India and the region. pic.twitter.com/8l5eOIysJ6
— Raza Ahmad Rumi (@Razarumi) August 16, 2018
Despite being from the BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee was quite a liked figure in Pakistan — not least because he himself came to Lahore on the Dosti Bus – also explains why he's already trending at No 1 in Pakistan pic.twitter.com/pSEdt2Bxs5
— omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) August 16, 2018
One of India's best-known politicians, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has died in the capital, Delhi. He was ninety-three. He served three terms as PM and will be remembered for moves towards economic reform and his determination to pursue a peace process with neighbouring Pakistan.
— Shafi Naqi Jamie (@ShafiNaqiJamie) August 16, 2018
Pashtun alleges conspiracy to portray community as terrorists
A video doing the rounds on Twitter shows a man believed to be a Pashtun alleging a years-long conspiracy by Pakistan authorities to paint the community as terrorists.
In the two-minute video, the man cites a book, Yeh Khamoshi Kahan Tak, by General Shahid Aziz (Retd) to claim former army chief Pervez Musharraf had admitted that soldiers were trained to speak in Pashto during the Kargil war, so they could be dismissed as mujahideen before the international community in the event of defeat.
https://twitter.com/GernailSaheb/status/1028690414436417536
Pashtuns allege the military’s crackdown on the Taliban, which primarily comprises members of the community, has led to excesses against the community in general. They have been organising frequent protests against alleged disappearances and human rights abuse.
PTI to kick off first 100-day plan with bureaucracy reshuffle
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to start its stint in office with a reshuffle of the top federal and provincial bureaucracy, reported Geo TV. This is part of the Imran Khan-led party’s first ‘100-day plan’, whose goals include transforming governance, improving economic growth and ensuring national security.
Arbab Shehzad, the former chief secretary for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (the region’s bureaucratic chief) reportedly suggested the replacement of chiefs of the Federal Board of Revenue, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, Railways, Pakistan International Airlines and some other institutions. According to sources, Khan has accepted the suggestions.
After 100 days, the PTI-led government will evaluate the performance of its appointees.
Contributors: Anagha Deshpande, Alind Chauhan, Manisha Mondal, Soniya Agrawal and Rupanwaita Bhattacharjee