Govt not behind complaint to Twitter regarding lawyer Reema Omer's tweet: info minister

Published
31
"This is absolutely an academic debate; why would govt question that debate?" said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in response to Reema Omer's tweet. — File
"This is absolutely an academic debate; why would govt question that debate?" said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in response to Reema Omer's tweet. — File

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has denied the government's involvement in reporting lawyer Reema Omer's tweets — that debated the status of military courts in the Constitution — to the micro-blogging site.

On Monday, Omer said that Twitter had received "official correspondence" that her tweets were in violation of the Pakistani law.

"Interesting times where 'officials' see references to the law — i.e., the Constitution + judgements of high courts — as a violation of the law," she had said.

Responding to her tweet, Chaudhry clarified that the government did not have any correspondence with Twitter over Omer's tweets.

"This is absolutely an academic debate; why would govt question that debate?" he asked.

"Thank you, Sir. Appreciate your clarification," Omer replied.

She, however, said "it leads to more questions: Is Twitter making up these emails? Is some impostor pretending to be a government official making these complaints? Or are these complaints being made 'officially', but without the government’s knowledge?"

In recent months, users, both local and international, have reported that they have received notices from Twitter labelling their tweets in violation with Pakistani law.

Earlier this month, DawnNewsTV anchor and senior journalist Mubashir Zaidi said that he had received an email from Twitter saying that his tweet regarding the murders of politician Ali Raza Abidi and SP Tahir Dawar was "in violation of Pakistani law according to a complaint it received" from Pakistan".

Opinion

Editorial

State of confusion
Updated 05 Aug, 2026

State of confusion

FROM the looks of it, America has no exit strategy to extricate itself from the disastrous war with Iran. US...
Pension decision
05 Aug, 2026

Pension decision

THE government’s decision to formally operationalise the new Defined Contribution Pension Fund Scheme is a step...
Preventable deaths
05 Aug, 2026

Preventable deaths

THE deaths of 144 children from measles and diphtheria in Karachi during the first seven months of the year expose a...
Swat bombing
Updated 04 Aug, 2026

Swat bombing

IT is a bitter irony that terrorists struck a protest against violence in Swat on Sunday, causing at least 17...
Tariff blow
04 Aug, 2026

Tariff blow

FOR an export sector already squeezed by high production costs, the additional 10pc tariff on top of the existing...
Perilous peaks
04 Aug, 2026

Perilous peaks

THE deaths of 10 climbers in an avalanche on Broad Peak is a sad reminder of the perils that many mountaineers face...