February 25, 2024
By Mateen Ali
LAHORE
On February 8, 2024, the day of the general election, was marred by protests, controversies and allegations of rigging. In the middle of this chaos, mobile networks were unexpectedly shut down, despite the government’s assurances that communications would remain uninterrupted.
The inordinate delay in announcing the election results sparked widespread protest, with social media flooded with footage of alleged rigging and reactions from disgruntled contestants.
Supporters of political parties, especially those of the PTI, took to the streets in response. Party leaders, including Salman Akram Raja, and several women workers, were temporarily detained on Feb 17.
On the same day, the then-commissioner of Rawalpindi, Liaqat Ali Chattha, initially claimed that the Feb 8 results were manipulated under his watch, though he later retracted his allegations.
Five days earlier, on Feb 12, Jamaat-i-Islami’s winning candidate Hafiz Naeemur Rehman resigned from his seat, publicly acknowledging that the PTI-backed candidate had secured the majority vote in his constituency.
Such activities sparked a wave of criticism on social media, flooding feeds with scrutiny of the electoral process and implicated officials. Just after 10 pm on Feb 17, X (formerly known as Twitter) was blocked, triggering widespread outrage from social media users, who were dismayed by the state’s action to suppress free speech.
No government institution came forward to take responsibility for the shutdown of X.
The common question that troubled many social media users was:
Why only ‘X’?
In a country where traditional news channels face stringent censorship, X serves as a beacon of unfiltered news, empowering voices from every corner, including the most remote hinterlands of the country. Therefore, speculation abounded regarding the state’s motive behind the blackout of X.
Many believed it was a desperate attempt to quell mounting dissent and obscure post-election embarrassments.
With no statement or justification from the government even after more than a week, multiple journalists and rights activists seek accountability from governing institutions for this arbitrary abuse of the fundamental freedom of expression.
Who is responsible?
The immediate suspicion fell on the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). However, whenever civil society organizations, news outlets, or individuals attempted to contact the PTA, they were consistently redirected to the Interior Ministry. Similarly, when approached, the Interior Ministry directed inquiries back to the PTA.
In an interview with Aaj TV, former Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, said that any decision to block or disrupt access to internet and social media websites are within the purview of the Ministry of Interior.
Attempts to extract any sort of explanation have been met with the age-old trick of bureaucratic runarounds by deflecting responsibility. With no one institution or empowered official prepared to assume accountability, it becomes so much easier to deny basic rights arbitrarily and without any fear of repercussions.
Relying on VPNs
Tech data startup Data Darbar recorded a total of 39 million installations of 20 different VPN apps between January 2022 and May 15, 2023. Some 2.63 million installations, comprising 6.03 percent of all installs, occurred in the week following May 9. This surge coincided with the latest in a series of unannounced disruptions in Internet connectivity. VPNs have become essential tools for both critics of the state and the tech-savvy population, serving as indispensable assets for expressing and seeking opinions in Pakistan.
A blow to e-commerce
Besides the suppression of free expression, Pakistan’s growing e-commerce and freelance sectors face significant challenges during Internet blackouts due to their reliance on online connectivity. Unlike other issues that might have workarounds, these sectors lack alternatives to ensure their businesses and livelihoods remain unaffected during such disruptions.
Amidst the challenges of a struggling economy and decreasing job prospects, online work serves as a lifeline for 2.37 million Pakistanis. Despite its importance, the state authorities persist in undermining this opportunity, exacerbating difficulties faced by the people.
This policy as a first-resort has garnered a fair share of criticism from international observers, including the US State Department which urged Pakistan to resume X’s services in the country.
The blockade of X may invite speculation about underlying motives, but it’s not a surprising move. Disrupting connectivity or access to social media has been a consistent tactic of successive governments in Pakistan – to control information flow as needed. This trend was evident from the ban on YouTube between 2012 and 2016, intermittent bans on TikTok, and the complete removal of dating apps. Even during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition’s rule last year, according to Data Darbar, there were 13 recorded instances of internet disruptions across the country.
Whether the newly-elected government will exceed this trend during its projected five-year term remains to be seen.