Asia: Minister Fawad Chaudhry was quoted as saying that the sites were blocked for “false and prejudiced reporting”, Iran Press news agency reported.
“The stories they were doing were only projecting a particular narrative without any impartial view. There are many things happening in our country and most are positive,” the minister said.
Fawad Chaudhry said that the website had been blocked by the government through the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority as there were complaints that the website was being used for spreading “propaganda” against security forces and for posting prejudiced material.
Voice of America (VOA) has reportedly confirmed that the Urdu and Pashto websites have been blocked in Pakistan.
An official who works for VOA said that the Pashto website had been blocked a few months ago.
“However, the Urdu website became inaccessible last week after the coverage of a press conference held by the leader of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), Mohsin Dawar. Initially, we received complaints that the website was not accessible at some places, but later it was completely blocked,” the official said.
“Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry was also contacted over the issue and he also confirmed that the websites were blocked,” according to the official.
Ayesha Tanzeem, the VOA bureau chief for Afghanistan and Pakistan, on her Twitter account said: “Pakistan Tightens Coverage of Pashtun Nationalist Movement #PTM, blocks VOA’s Urdu and Deewa websites."
In a story published on the VOA website's English edition, it is stated that Pakistani authorities were scrutinising media coverage of the Pashtun nationalist movement, blocking VOA websites and filing police cases against journalists covering its local rallies.
About a week earlier, it said, Pakistan had ordered internet service providers to block the website of VOA’s Urdu language service. VOA’s Deewa news website, which primarily caters to the Pashto-speaking audience in the region around the Afghan border, had already been blocked for months, the report added. 206/103
