ISLAMABAD: Twenty-eight civil society organizations, including Amnesty International and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) this week issued a joint statement, calling for the immediate restoration of social media platform X across the country.
X, formerly Twitter, first went down in Pakistan on Feb. 17 when a government official confessed to manipulating votes in the Feb. 8 general election. The admission came as former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and other political parties staged protests countrywide, alleging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had rigged elections, which it denies.
X’s prolonged disruption has raised widespread concerns about the state of democratic freedoms in the country, with the United States and several international organizations urging Pakistan to provide unhindered Internet access and leading digital rights activists calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civil liberties.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar denied this week there was a ban on X, saying that people were regularly posting on the social media platform.
“Amnesty International is one of 28 civil society organizations that have signed a joint statement calling for immediate restoration of the social media platform,” the global human rights agency said in a post on X on Saturday.
“And urge the Pakistani authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of expression and access to information under the country’s international human rights commitments.”
The joint statement features the signatures of 28 civil society organizations including the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD), HRCP, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) and others.
Issued on Friday, the statement expressed “profound concern” over the increasing incidences of Internet shutdowns and bans on social media platforms, especially in the days leading to the Feb. 8 election.
It also expressed alarm at the “complete silence” of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for failing to furnish any reasons for its actions, accusing it of exceeding its mandate to block an entire Internet platform.
“We urge the incoming government, regulators and other public bodies to recognize that any action that affects the flow of information and limits citizen’s ability to express themselves, has a direct and lingering impact on citizen’s human rights including the right to political participation,” the statement read.
Before the latest blockade, Pakistan experienced multiple Internet disruptions in recent weeks that made social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram inaccessible. Recent occurrences were on Jan. 20, Jan. 7 and Dec. 17, when Khan’s PTI party was holding virtual events.
The government had blamed those disruptions on “technical glitches.” Such shutdowns have previously had a devastating impact on Pakistan’s economy. The day after Khan’s arrest in May last year, Reuters reported that point-of-sale transactions routed through Pakistan’s main digital payment systems fell by around 50 percent according to the region’s two largest payments system operators, 1LINK and Habib Bank Limited.
28 civil society organizations demand immediate restoration of X in Pakistan
https://arab.news/4zz4m
28 civil society organizations demand immediate restoration of X in Pakistan
- X first went down on Feb. 17 when a government official confessed to manipulating votes amid countrywide protests against alleged rigging
- Amnesty International, Pakistan’s top human rights body among 28 civil society organizations demand government restore X in the country
Pakistan police ‘water-cannoned’ Imran Khan’s sisters during sit-in outside prison — party
- Former senator on the scene says police fired water cannon three times at protesters outside Adiala Jail
- Police have yet to issue an official response, declined immediate comment when contacted by Arab News
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on Wednesday accused police of using a water cannon in freezing temperatures to disperse supporters and the three sisters of former prime minister Imran Khan who were holding an overnight sit-in outside the Adiala high-security prison to demand a meeting with him.
Khan, a former cricket star who became prime minister in 2018, has been in jail since 2023 on multiple charges ranging from corruption to terrorism. He denies wrongdoing, saying the cases are politically motivated to keep him out of politics.
Last week, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced a complete ban on all meetings with Khan at Adiala Jail, calling him an “extremist consumed by war hysteria.” Even before the ban, the PTI had repeatedly claimed Khan was being denied regular meetings with lawyers and family despite court rulings allowing visitation.
Videos circulating widely on social media on Tuesday late night and Wednesday morning showed a small crowd, including Khan’s sisters Aleema and Uzma, running as jets of water were fired from a police vehicle outside the prison complex in the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. Police have yet to issue an official response and declined immediate comment when contacted by Arab News.
“Pakistani authorities used water cannons to disperse Imran Khan’s sisters and peaceful PTI workers outside Adiala Jail, despite a court order allowing a meeting with the jailed former PM,” PTI wrote on X, calling the action a violation of “basic human rights and freedom of assembly in freezing weather!”
Former senator Mushtaq Ahmad, who is not a PTI member but says he went to support the protest, told Arab News he witnessed the water cannon deployed three times against roughly 100–150 demonstrators.
“The water cannon was directed at three sisters of Imran Khan who were there to demand their meeting with their incarcerated brother order of Islamabad high court. One sister fell down on slippery ground after that,” Ahmad said.
He added that he had been stopped repeatedly at checkpoints on the way to the prison and had to take alternative routes to reach the sit-in.
Khan has remained a dominant political figure even from behind bars, drawing large crowds and online support. His party insists he is being punished for challenging Pakistan’s military establishment, an accusation the army denies. Last week, military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Khan’s narrative had become a “national security threat,” warning the party against dragging the armed forces into political disputes.
PTI has held repeated demonstrations demanding Khan’s release since his arrest in 2023, several of which have ended in confrontation with police and casualties on both sides.
Last week, Information Minister Tarar, as he announced a ban on meetings with Khan in prison, said the government would take “swift and firm” action against anyone attempting to create unrest outside the prison:
“It is now time to restore the writ of the state. There will be no jail meetings, nor will gatherings be allowed.”
