February 19, 2024
By Muhammad Junaid
LAHORE
Social media platform X is not accessible in Pakistan since Saturday, Feb 17, 2024.
It remains unclear if the service was blocked following the political upheaval unleashed in the country after Rawalpindi commissioner Liaqat Ali Chattha’s press conference, or it was triggered by the Feb 17 PTI protest where PTI-backed NA-128 aspirant Salman Akram Raja was briefly detained.
Some speculate if the state is attempting to obscure its own embarrassing post-election actions.
The blockage of X (formerly Twitter) in Pakistan, along with reports of fragmented Internet access, is widely interpreted as yet another move by the government to tighten control over freedom of expression. This action has had a significant impact on millions of users across the country.
Both Downdetector.pk and NetBlocks, the global watchdogs, confirmed the shutdown of X in Pakistan.
⚠ Update: Metrics show that X/Twitter has now been restricted in #Pakistan for 24 hours, the latest and longest in a series of nation-scale internet censorship measures imposed by authorities as reports of election fraud emerge 📉 https://t.co/XAsM39sBb5 pic.twitter.com/ZKIhINj3Pc
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) February 18, 2024
The latest disruption of Internet services, including access to social media platforms, is just one in a series of such incidents in Pakistan. It was suspended on Feb 8, the day general elections were held across the country. The action has prompted a sharp criticism from digital rights activists.
‘Access to internet, a fundamental right’
While speaking to Voicepk, Nighat Dad, Internet activist who runs the not-for-profit organisation Digital Rights Foundation, said the United Nations has declared the access to Internet a fundamental right; blocking people’s access to Internet is not only a violation of their constitutional right but amounts to defying the country’s international commitments.
“It is high time the Supreme Court takes a suo-moto notice [of frequent Internet disruptions] and directs regulatory bodies to come up with a proper framework to settle the issue once and for all,” she said.
Rights activist Farieha Aziz regretted the suspension of X and highlighted the need for the courts to recognize how the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority persist in violating their directives. “Such actions must be challenged in courts. The courts must be made to see how the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority continue to act in violation of their directions.”
Aziz added that the restoration of service does not guarantee immunity from future similar actions, and stressed on the importance of continued pressure on the government to uphold freedom of expression for all citizens.
“Despite Sindh High Court (SHC) directives, the caretaker government suspended services on election day and continues to throttle the Internet and restrict access to Twitter. Of course this is to prevent discourse on election irregularities and everything that is happening in response to it because Twitter provides a global stage for policy and political discourse.”
Till the filing of this report, the PTA had not commented on the disruption in services. Caretaker Information and Technology Minister Umar Saif could not be reached when contacted.
Civil Society Reacts
Meanwhile, civil society and journalists lambasted the authorities for restricting access to internet, which they claim is a blatant attempt to throttle information.
Disrupting or shutting down the internet or any social media platforms bleed online businesses and commerce and adds to the misery of an already fragile and struggling economy. It also infringes on people’s right to democratic decision making, information and expression. This…
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) February 19, 2024
Why is twitter down? To help N and PPP form the govt or to stop the PTI clamour? If there ever was a headless chicken, it’s running Pakistan
— Arifa Noor (@arifanoor72) February 19, 2024
Pakistan’s IT Minister using a VPN to tweet about two key IT initiatives in Pakistan as Twitter/X remains blocked for a third day today. https://t.co/CggOE3I18r
— Usama Khilji (@UsamaKhilji) February 19, 2024
Hogwash by PTA. After PECA 2016, all legal responsibility rests squarely with them. S.37 powers can only be exercised by the PTA & no one else, definitely not at the behest of the federal govt. That it happens is a different debate https://t.co/7sfYwgfSh9https://t.co/7FJ4D1lOdt pic.twitter.com/xkYHdAKNhd
— Farieha Aziz (@FariehaAziz) February 19, 2024
Alarming facts
Internet shutdowns have severe consequences for the Pakistani economy and can badly impact multiple sectors including online cab services, online food delivery services, freelancers, transport companies, and postal services.
A report published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) last year stated that a 24-hour closure of internet services causes a direct loss of an Rs1.3 billion, that accounts for nearly 0.57 percent of the country’s daily GDP average for the nation.
In July 2023, Surfshark, a virtual private network company headquartered in Lithuania, ranked Pakistan third in the world over internet restrictions in the first half of 2023.