ISLAMABAD: Nationwide disruption to social media platform X passed the one-week mark in Pakistan on Saturday, with digital rights monitors warning outages were quashing dissent after an election marred by rigging claims.
The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was downed last Saturday after a senior government official made a public admission of vote manipulation in the February 8 poll.
Over the past week, it has been operational only intermittently, with access varying depending on the Internet service provider.
“Pakistan’s directed use of network shutdowns and restrictions to overtly target political parties and the reporting of election irregularities is unprecedented,” Alp Toker of the NetBlocks web watchdog told AFP.
AFP staff reported that X remained disrupted in the capital Islamabad as well as the megacities of Lahore and Karachi on Saturday.
Pakistan’s telecommunication authority declined to comment while the interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called for nationwide protests after the admission of vote-rigging last week.
“Protesting political parties have actively been using X for freedom of expression, access to information, to assemble online and for other associated rights,” said web monitor Bytes for All.
The disruption “restricts citizens’ ability to engage in online discourse, share information, and express dissenting opinions,” the organization wrote in a report published Friday.
In the months leading to the polling day, PTI suffered a crackdown restricting canvassing and forcing candidates to run as independents.
Its campaign moved mostly online where social media events were censored by numerous nationwide blackouts of X as well as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Outages were blamed on “technical difficulties” by the government.
Despite the restrictions, PTI-backed candidates gained more seats than any other party. But it has been unwilling to ally with rivals, paving the way for the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to form a government.
Mobile Internet services were cut across the country on the election day, with the interior ministry citing security reasons.
The blackout, coupled with a long delay in issuing voting results, gave rise to allegations of rigging.
X platform disrupted in Pakistan for full week after disputed election
https://arab.news/gxc7x
X platform disrupted in Pakistan for full week after disputed election
- NetBlocks calls Pakistan’s use of network shutdowns and restrictions to overtly target political parties unprecedented
- Internet monitors say the situation is restricting citizens’ ability to engage in online discourse, express dissenting opinions
UNESCO lists Pakistan’s ancient Bareendo instrument as endangered cultural heritage
- 5,000-year-old Sindhi clay wind instrument placed on UNESCO urgent safeguarding list
- Only two known practitioners remain as Pakistan launches four-year preservation plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s 5,000-year-old folk instrument Bareendo has been added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list for urgent safeguarding, the UN agency said this week, placing it among cultural traditions considered at immediate risk of disappearing.
Believed to originate in the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, the clay wind instrument is the oldest known surviving musical form in the southern Sindh province. Its soft, breath-driven tones have accompanied Sufi devotional gatherings, winter festivals and village ceremonies for generations, forming a core part of Sindh’s musical and spiritual identity.
The inscription was approved at the 20th Session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage, which documents vulnerable cultural practices globally, from oral folklore to craftsmanship, to ensure they are preserved and passed on.
UNESCO announced the listing on X on Tuesday:
“New inscription on the Urgent Safeguarding List of Intangible Heritage: Boreendo, Bhorindo: ancient dying folk musical instrument, its melodies, knowledge, and skills.”
Pakistan’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, welcomed the move, calling it the recognition of a tradition preserved through centuries of community transmission.
“Bareendo is not only an emblem of the Indus Valley’s cultural continuity but also a living expression of Sindh’s artistic and spiritual heritage,” she was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Embassy in France.
“This recognition by UNESCO reaffirms Pakistan’s commitment to the protection and promotion of our diverse cultural traditions.”
Only two people are believed to retain full mastery of Bareendo today, musician Ustaad Faqeer Zulfiqar and master potter Allah Jurio, underscoring why the nomination was marked urgent, the embassy said.
The nomination followed an intensive consultation process between the Sindh government, Pakistan’s Mission to UNESCO and UNESCO headquarters in Keti Mir Muhammad Loond village and led to a four-year safeguarding strategy (2026–2029). Planned measures include a community music school, integration into formal and informal education and digital archiving to open access beyond Sindh’s rural belt.
With this recognition, Bareendo joins existing UNESCO-listed intangible traditions like Suri Jagek (the astronomical knowledge of the Kalash people), Falconry, and Nowruz, the regional spring new year.
