Pakistan’s Internet Disrupted During Rally by Imran Khan’s Party

 

Pakistan experienced an internet disruption that made social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X and Instagram inaccessible while jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party held a virtual election rally.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, called the outage a move against free speech. Malaha Obaid, a spokeswoman for Pakistan’s telecom authority, said she was unaware of the incident.

Candidates for Khan’s party are kicking off their campaign for a general election on Feb. 8, where they’re running as independents after a Supreme Court ruling against the party. A similar internet outage happened in early January during a virtual fundraising drive by the PTI.

Internet users in Pakistan started seeing the breakdown Saturday evening. Nayatel, an Islamabad-based internet provider, told customers in an audio message that it was acting on the instructions of Pakistani authorities. 

 

Read more: Imran Khan’s Party Vows to Fight Election Despite Effective Ban

  The former cricket star’s party has complained of unfair pre-election treatment by the authorities after he failed to secure a temporary release from prison, where he’s being held due to more than 170 cases against him.

As Pakistan grapples with this digital blackout, questions linger: Was it a technical hiccup or a state-orchestrated silencing? Will the upcoming elections be illuminated by free speech or shrouded in digital darkness? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Pakistan's journey towards democracy just hit a major roadblock, paved with pixels and laced with fear.

Khan has been barred from contesting elections for five years after a court convicted in a graft case in August. He says the cases are politically motivated.