KARACHI: Digital rights activists said on Sunday that free speech was “critically under threat” in Pakistan as the South Asian nation continued to experience a disruption of social media platform X for the eighth consecutive day, despite a high court ruling to immediately restore it.
The platform went down on the night of February 17, when a senior government official made a public admission of vote manipulation in the February 8 national election, which was marred by a mobile network outage and delays in release of constituency results.
The suspension of mobile networks and subsequent delays in poll results led to widespread allegations of vote-rigging and sparked protests, mainly by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, against alleged manipulation of results.
Usama Khilji, director of the Bolo Bhi Internet, censorship and gender advocacy group in Pakistan, said non-compliance of the court order meant there was “complete impunity” for the violation of the Constitution as well as orders of the higher judiciary.
“I think free speech is critically under threat,” he told Arab News, adding it was quite concerning as there was no protection of fundamental rights of the citizens of Pakistan.
The Sindh High Court this week ordered authorities to immediately restore the social media platform after concerned citizens in the southern Pakistan province of Sindh moved the court against the disruption of X.
Jibran Nasir, a human rights lawyer who filed one of the two petitions in the Sindh High Court, said he had already filed a contempt of court case against chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which regulates Internet and social media platforms in the country, over non-compliance of the court orders.
Arab News reached out to PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid for a comment on the matter, but she referred the query to the interior ministry. There was no response from the interior ministry either.
Nasir, the human rights lawyer, said the unannounced restriction on X indicated the state was “scared of free speech.”
“These repeated interruptions, disruptions and now what we are seeing as prolonged ban on Twitter, or X, which is primarily a medium for information sharing where academic, journalists, politicians, people from different walks of life and the masses at large interact indicates that the state is scared of free speech, the state is petrified by the idea that citizens under the constitution can have the liberty to exercise their right to freedom of expression,” he told Arab News.
“It’s also indicative of the fear of the state that what can an empowered and informed electorate do, so that’s why to ensure that the people don’t have free access to flow of information and that they don’t have the medium where they can express their views.”
Nighat Dad, a digital rights activist, said while the disruption of X was a “blatant violation of civil liberties,” it had sent out a message to the world that Pakistan might not be a “good market” for them.
“Any banning or blocking, or disruption of any platform tells the world that there’s something wrong with our policies” she said, questioning who would bring their investment to Pakistan under such circumstances.
Amber Rahim Shamsi, director of the Center for Excellence in Journalism (CEJ) and another petitioner against the disruption, said the PTA was “violating its own rules and regulations” by banning the social media platform and the move had not helped stop any mis- or disinformation.
“Mis- and dis-information cannot be identified and documented on private Facebook accounts or WhatsApp groups,” said Shamsi, who also heads the iVerify Pakistan fact-checking platform.
“Banning Twitter has not stopped the spread of mis- and dis-information, but the ability of independent fact-checkers to trace and respond.”
Rights activists say free speech ‘critically under threat’ in Pakistan as X disruption enters eighth day
https://arab.news/nas8b
Rights activists say free speech ‘critically under threat’ in Pakistan as X disruption enters eighth day
- Access to the social media platform was restricted days after Pakistan’s controversial election, which was marred by rigging claims
- Lawyer Jibran Nasir seeks contempt proceedings against Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for defying court’s order to restore X
Pakistan Army’s logistics firm to run national shipping corporation, confirm officials
- Government to transfer 30 percent shares in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, management control to NLC firm, say officials
- Officials say the move will increase PNSC’s shipping fleet from 10 to 54, save $6 billion Islamabad pays in foreign freight annually
KARACHI: The government has decided to transfer the state-run Pakistan National Shipping Corporation’s (PNSC) management to the military-run National Logistics Corporation (NLC), officials confirmed on Thursday, saying the move is expected to save $6 billion that Islamabad currently pays in foreign freight annually.
A week earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government sold 75 percent of its shareholding in the national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a business consortium led by Arif Habib Group for Rs135 billion ($482 million).
The government’s current drive to privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is a key requirement of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) $7 billion loan program. The global lender wants Islamabad to privatize its loss-making state assets to save valuable revenue.
PNSC reported a 34 percent decline in its profit, which reduced to Rs3.71 billion ($13.2 million) in the July-September quarter this year. Its revenues from shipping business fell by 2 percent to Rs9.32 billion ($33 million) in the same period, according to the company’s filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) seen by Arab News. The PNSC’s profits remained almost stagnant at Rs20 billion ($73 million) in FY25 while its shipping income shrank 18 percent to Rs33.7 billion ($120.3 million).
“We received a letter about one month ago in which the government asked us to sort out things before Dec. 30,” a PNSC official told Arab News on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. “The management control will go to the NLC.”
An NLC official confirmed the same.
“Yes, this is happening,” an NLC official told Arab News on condition of anonymity. He said details will be shared in due course.
Muhammad Arshad, a spokesman at Pakistan’s Maritime Affairs Ministry, and PNSC Spokesperson Muhammad Farooq Nizami both declined to comment on the matter.
“We can’t say anything about this development until we get an official notification,” Nizami told Arab News.
Officials said that as per the PNSC Revitalization and Improvement Plan, the government would sell about 30 percent of its PNSC shareholding to NLC, which would then have a controlling share in the corporation’s management.
As of Jun. 30, the government holds 87.56 percent shares in PNSC, whose 198.1 million shares are listed on the PSX with a market capital of Rs109 billion ($389 million).
The NLC will be required to increase the PNSC’s shipping fleet, which currently comprises only 10 ships, to 54 over the next five years, the shipping company’s official said.
This would help Pakistan’s government save about $6 billion in freight costs as the PNSC’s current 10 ships are only able to handle 11 percent of the country’s commercial cargo, he added.
“As a result, Pakistan has to pay approximately $6 billion annually in foreign exchange to foreign shipping companies as freight charges,” he said.
Among other objectives, the military-led company is also expected to rid PNSC of its aging fleet, as many vessels are nearing the end of their operational life and won’t be able to sail profitably beyond 2030.
“This initiative will ensure 100 percent replacement of all old PNSC vessels along with the induction of new ships,” the PNSC official said.
News reports of the transfer of management have led to a rise in the PNSC’s shares at the PSX, which gained by around 21 percent in the last two trading sessions. The stocks traded at Rs548.89 ($1.9) per share on Thursday morning, taking its year-to-date gains to 17 percent.
Pakistan’s government has been cautious in spending its $16 billion foreign exchange reserves as it aims to keep its current account balance in check.
Pakistan’s current account reported a $812 million deficit in the July-November period from a $503 million surplus last year, according to data shared by the central bank.
The PNSC official said the increase in the company’s shipping fleet will enhance its share in global maritime freight from $162 million to $1.79 billion.
“Despite significant growth potential in the shipping industry, the absence of private operators is hindering market dynamism and efficiency,” he said.
“World-class financial and legal advisers will be appointed for institutional restructuring, transforming PNSC into a modern, agile, and professionally managed organization.”
