Indo-Pak tensions reach White House as counter petitions filed

TIL Desk World/Washington/ The current tensions between India and Pakistan have reached the White House cyberspace, with two petitions being filed against both the countries and seeking response from the Obama Administration.

The White House has stopped accepting signatures for one of the petitions that sought to designate Pakistan as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’, days after it gained a record half a million signatures which is five times the number needed to get a response from the Obama Administration.

Another petition claiming that India is “involved in spreading terrorism in its adjoining countries” has been submitted on the White House website. “This petition has been archived because it did not meet the signature requirements. It can no longer be signed,” the White House said.

No further explanation has been given by the White House on closing the petition for signature. Normally, it is open for a month for the people to sign. However, it looks like that some of the signatures might not have met the terms of participation for these petitions. As a result, it is very well possible that some of these signatures could be removed if there is evidence of fraud. But the White House is expected to have an official response to the petition within the 60 days’ deadline.