Facebook allegedly blocks Pakistani state-run radio

KARACHI, Pakistan

Facebook allegedly suspended live news streaming by Pakistan's state-run radio over posts on Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir that "goes against" the social media website's "community standards".

In a statement on Sunday, Radio Pakistan accused Facebook of blocking live news bulletins by the Pakistan Broadcast Corporation (PBC) for the PBC's social media activity on "continued atrocities, curfew and military lockdown" in Kashmir.

The move came weeks after Twitter reportedly suspended hundreds of accounts operated by Pakistani users that posting content criticizing human rights conditions in Kashmir after New Delhi scrapped the disputed region's longstanding special rights last August.

Radio Pakistan announced it made temporary alternate arrangements on YouTube to continue the live streaming of its news bulletins.

In the statement, Radio Pakistan showed screenshots of Facebook's messages on some of the radio's posts that said they went against standards on "dangerous individuals and organizations".

The posts commemorated two pro-freedom Kashmiri fighters killed in action during clashes with Indian forces.

Pakistani Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan condemned the alleged block, saying it was a "violation of basic human rights".

Awan told reporters in the capital Islamabad that Pakistan would seek to restore live streaming for Radio Pakistan on Facebook.

Disputed Region

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region, is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed by both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965 and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or for unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.