Pakistan’s media regulators have banned the use of X, previously known as Twitter, resulting in widespread disruptions and shutdowns for users in the country for six consecutive days.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority did not provide a comment on the outage, and government officials have not responded to multiple requests from The Associated Press for a statement.

Activists who advocate for human rights are calling for the complete reinstatement of internet services and the ability to use social media. The United States has also asked Pakistan to remove any limitations on X.

On the weekend, the political party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan declared protests against the allegedly manipulated Feb. 8 parliamentary elections, marking the initial detection of the outage.

In the election, candidates supported by Khan, who was disqualified from participating, won the majority of seats but did not reach the required number for a majority to form a government.

Protest organizers frequently utilize social media platforms to rally followers to join street demonstrations and publicize upcoming protests.

After the election, there has been a rise in political turmoil in Pakistan. The group in charge of overseeing the elections denies allegations from Khan’s party that the results were tampered with. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, also known as TPI, claims that the government has imposed limitations on their use of social media in an attempt to silence their opinions.

On Wednesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed concerns in a statement to reporters over the outage and restrictions on the freedom of expression and association in Pakistan.

The speaker, Miller, stated that they are urging Pakistan to honor the right to freely express oneself and lift restrictions on social media platforms, specifically Twitter (referred to as X). They also mentioned that they will consistently stress the significance of upholding these basic freedoms in their interactions with Pakistani authorities.

Opponents of Khan, such as previous Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, are attempting to establish a united government. Sharif took over from Khan after he was removed from power in a no-confidence vote in 2022. Since then, Khan has been found guilty of crimes that his followers believe are politically motivated attempts to prevent him from holding office.

Source: wral.com