KARACHI: Digital rights activists and cybersecurity experts on Sunday called a shutdown of social media platform X in Pakistan a “blatant violation” of civil liberties, saying it would trigger further disinformation in the South Asian nation.
Netblocks, a UK-based Internet watchdog, on Saturday confirmed a “national-scale” disruption of X that began amid protests by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other parties against alleged rigging of Feb. 8 national election in the country.
Access to the platform was temporarily restored on Sunday morning before it was blocked again. While it is not clear what led to the situation, social media shutdowns have mostly been witnessed in the country during periods of political unrest and volatility.
“This is a blatant violation of civil liberties. It’s not good for democracy,” said Nighat Dad, a leading Pakistani digital rights activist and lawyer, adding the shutdown of the Internet or any specific social media platform would not help tackle the issues of disinformation or security.
“Instead, it will create chaos and trigger more disinformation. If the government is faced with a security issue or the problem of disinformation, it will have to devise a proper framework keeping proportionality and necessity at the heart of such a policy. Blanket shutdown is not a solution.”
When contacted, Malahat Obaid, director of public relations at the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), said the interior ministry should be reached out for a comment on the matter.
Last week’s indecisive national election in Pakistan was marred by a nationwide mobile service shutdown that was followed by delays in polls results, leading to accusations that the election was rigged and drawing concerns from rights groups and foreign governments.
A cybersecurity specialist at a private Pakistani firm, who wished to remain anonymous, said repeated shutdowns of social media platforms and other services “are now beyond logic.”
“There is no official notification explaining this has happened or why it has happened, we hear justifications later that make no sense,” he told Arab News, adding people who wanted access to these platforms would find out a way.
“Nothing is absolutely blocked on the Internet anymore. If this is a sign of things to come, I don’t know who will have confidence in a digital Pakistan?“
The outage of X was observed after Khan’s PTI and other parties held countrywide demonstrations against alleged manipulation of election results.
“Live metrics show a new national-scale disruption to X/Twitter in #Pakistan amid escalating unrest and protests over allegations of election fraud, following a high-level resignation and public admission of vote manipulation by a senior election official,” Netblocks said on Saturday night.
Political tensions and uncertainty increased on Saturday after a top bureaucrat held a news conference, wherein he admitted to altering election results in 13 national and 26 provincial constituencies by misusing his administrative powers.
In the past, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube have also faced restrictions, coinciding with political events, indicating a pre-emptive approach by authorities to curtail the mobilization and dissemination of dissenting views.
Pakistani digital rights activists call nationwide disruption of X ‘blatant violation’ of civil liberties
https://arab.news/p4vxy
Pakistani digital rights activists call nationwide disruption of X ‘blatant violation’ of civil liberties
- The outage was reported on Saturday amid protests by political parties against alleged election rigging
- The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority says the interior ministry should be reached for comment
IMF team expected in Islamabad today for loan reviews amid reform scrutiny
- Talks to cover third review of $7 billion bailout and second climate resilience assessment
- Analysts flag revenue shortfall and energy reforms as potential sticking points in negotiations
KARACHI: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission is expected to arrive in Islamabad today, Wednesday, to begin discussions on key program reviews that will determine Pakistan’s continued access to funding under its $7 billion bailout and a parallel climate resilience facility.
The visit, confirmed last week by IMF communications director Julie Kozack, will cover the third review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the second review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), which supports climate-vulnerable countries.
“We do have a staff team that is expected to visit Pakistan starting February 25th for discussions on the third review under the EFF and the second review under the RSF,” Kozack said at a regular press briefing last week.
The talks come at a sensitive moment for Islamabad, which has spent the past year implementing tax increases, subsidy rationalization and tight monetary policy to stabilize an economy that teetered on the brink of default in 2023.
IMF officials have credited those measures with producing measurable gains. Kozack said Pakistan’s policy efforts under the EFF had helped stabilize the economy and rebuild confidence, pointing to a primary fiscal surplus of 1.3 percent of GDP in the last fiscal year, contained inflation and the country’s first current account surplus in 14 years.
The review is expected to probe fiscal discipline and energy sector reforms, two areas that have historically complicated negotiations between Islamabad and the Fund.
Analysts told Arab News last week that while approval of the next tranche is likely, discussions might not be straightforward.
“This is expected to be a smooth sailing. However, questions might arise,” Shankar Talreja, head of research at Karachi-based Topline Securities Limited, said earlier.
He pointed to a revenue shortfall of Rs336 billion ($1.2 billion) against IMF targets and raised the possibility that the Fund may seek clarification over the government’s recent reduction in electricity tariffs for export-oriented industries, a move designed to support manufacturing but with fiscal implications.
A positive outcome of the review is vital for continued disbursements under the EFF and RSF programs. It will also be important to sustain investor confidence as the country seeks to consolidate its fragile economic recovery.
A successful staff-level review leads to a provisional agreement between the two sides, which then requires approval by the Fund’s Executive Board before the disbursement of the next tranche.
