ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Caretaker Information and Broadcasting Minister Murtaza Solangi has hinted the possibility of suspension of internet services across the Country on the polling day on February 08, apparently as part of the series of strict measures to halt the dissemination of information to the public and broadcast only the “specific information” through “controlled media”.
“No guarantee can be given of availability of uninterrupted internet services in the future,” said Murtaza Solangi in a Press Conference when he was asked to ensure the uninterrupted internet services near the February 8 elections.
The Officials of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also flanked the Information Minister Murtaza Solangi in the Press Conference held in Islamabad on Monday.
In the recent past, the internet services were slowed down or completed suspended whenever the embattled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held “virtual power show”.
However, the minister termed the technical reasons such as systems installation behind the internet outage.
الیکشن کے دنوں میں انٹرنیٹ سروس بند رکھنے کا منصوبہ ؟
کیا آپ یقینی بنائیں گے کہ انٹرنیٹ سروس الیکشن کے دنوں میں بلاتعطل جاری رہیں گی؟ اعزاز سید کا سوال
اس بات کی ضمانت نہیں دی جا سکتی کہ مستقبل میں انٹرنیٹ سروس میں کوئی رخنہ نہیں ہوگا، نگران وزیراطلاعات کا جواب pic.twitter.com/KxK6Zj3JPh
— Rizwan Ghilzai (Student of Arshad Sharif) (@RizwanGhilzai) January 22, 2024
The Director General PTA Ahmed Shamim Pirzada said that attributed the internet outages to technical glitches and system upgradation.
“You can face this for the next two to three months,” Ahmed Shamim Pirzada said.
Though the authorities have been in the denial mode but it’s been now a key feature of government’s strategy to disrupt the broadcast of PTI’s events on social media websites, particularly YouTube.
⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across #Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube; the incident comes as persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan’s political party, PTI, launches its second virtual gathering pic.twitter.com/lwl24Kv5td
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) January 20, 2024
