Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar says the ban on social media platform X has been imposed due to national security reasons and this should not be taken as an attempt to curb freedom of expression.

Talking to the Voice of America in New York, he said the ban is not unannounced and was imposed during the interim government.

The Minister pointed out that separatist and terrorist groups are using this platform against the country. He said BLA terrorists run their campaigns on X.

He said terrorists post all their terrorism-related activities on X and broadcast their activities live on the social media, emphasizing that the terrorist groups cannot be allowed to misuse the social media platforms.

The Information Minister further said terrorists are misusing social media platforms to shed blood and kill innocent citizens. He said there should be some mechanism to regulate the social media to avoid its misuse.

He said a web management system already existed and there should be no issue in ensuring cyber security and data security under this system.

Attaullah Tarar, however, said as a political worker, he would say that X should be opened. He said this matter can be amicably settled if compliance issues with X are resolved.