Did Pakistan 'Block' Al Jazeera Access Over Reports On PoK Protest Crackdown?

Following a series of reports on Pakistan's brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), Islamabad has reportedly blocked access to Al Jazeera.

The Shahbaz Sharif-led government has not announced any official ban on the Qatari broadcaster so far, but several users across Pakistan have taken to social media claiming they were unable to access Al Jazeera's English-language website.

The country's Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry has slammed Al Jazeera's "selective reporting", accusing the broadcaster of "misrepresenting" the elections and the voting process.

Taking to X, the ministry posted, "We have taken note of Al Jazeera's selective reporting from handpicked polling stations in Muzaffarabad today. Through carefully chosen timings and scripted statements from selected individuals, the channel has sought to misrepresent the AJK elections and the voting process," the ministry said in a statement posted on its X handle.

Pakistan refers to the illegally occupied parts of Jammu and Kashmir as 'Azad' Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Islamabad also accused the media outlet of doing "yellow journalism", a term which refers to reports that are written in an exaggerated way in order to shock the readers.

"Such yellow journalism only confirms the agenda of external actors with vested interests who are attempting to delegitimise this electoral exercise and undermine the popular will of the people of Muzaffarabad and AJK, clearly demonstrated today in their rejection of anarchy and coercion," the ministry added.