Internet service suspended all a cross Pakistan after Imran Khan’s arrest

Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan is considered one of the most popular political figures in the country and has a great following among the youth from north to south. On Tuesday (May 9th), he was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust Case by Rangers and handed over to the NAB (National Accountability Bureau). As the country was passing through political havoc and confusion, his arrest added fuel to the fire. PTI workers and leadership consider Imran Khan as their “Redline”, so an immediate and aggressive reaction was observed in different cities of the country.

In Pakistan, the media is usually under the influence of government authorities and different powerful segments of society. As people were on the streets against the arrest of their leader, the traditional media was limited to the selected news reporting due to different layers of gatekeeping including editors, owners, government, and political pressure. As the followers of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) are mostly young people -who use social media for updates and connectivity- they shifted their flow of news, updates, and release of footage to social media websites.

Protests were converted to violent riots which resulted in the clashes between PTI workers and law enforcement agencies. The charged crowd attacked the Army Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and entered the Corp Commander House in Lahore. Radio Pakistan Peshawar building was also burned to the ground. Footage of the arrest of Imran Khan and the countrywide protest by party workers reached every nook and corner of the world via social media. The PDM government immediately disconnected the internet services in the country and pushed Pakistan into the stone age. Internet service was suspended on May 9th the same day when Imran Khan was nabbed.

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) – which deals with the internet and telecom sector in Pakistan- stated the shutdown of the Internet in the country. In a statement issued by PTA, it is said that the shutdown of internet service in the country is for an indefinite period. According to PTA “the internet service has been closed at the request of the Ministry of Interior”.  With this decision, Internet service was affected across the country while it was completely stopped in various metropolitan cities.

While speaking to journalists on this issue in Islamabad Vice Chairman of PTI Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that PTI is not involved in the attacks on government property. “Assaults on government property are not the policy of PTI, our policy has been peaceful, look at our rallies and long marches, we have never damaged property, government elements are doing this all”. He said, “Internet service closure is a draconian act of government, we are living in the age of technology and social media, how can any authority or government usurp this basic human rights from the citizens of Pakistan, PTI strongly condemns the ban on social media”.

YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have also been disrupted due to the internet shutdown in several cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi. On the arrest of Chairman PTI Imran Khan, workers and people are protesting in many cities of the country and violent incidents have also been reported in many places. Videos and pictures of these incidents are being uploaded on social media due to which people are more saddened. Government sources confirmed the shutdown of internet services in Pakistan and said that internet services were banned to prevent propaganda on social media.

Among other citizens of Pakistan, internet users are also facing difficulties in accessing Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, many users have also complained in this regard. According to the report of the international organization that monitors internet service, users in Pakistan have filed complaints regarding the lack of access to Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media applications. Pakistani social media is witnessing strong reactions from users on the shutdown of mobile internet service and social media platforms. Internet watchdog NetBlocks has also confirmed that access to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube has been blocked across Pakistan.

 Due to the closure of messaging app “WhatsApp”, citizens are facing communication difficulties. Although there are some reports that phone and internet services are being restored partially in different parts of the country but due to the slow speed of the internet people are not able to get access to social media websites.

EAT News conducted interviews with common people in the streets of the capital to know their reaction to the closure of the phone net and internet. During the conversation, Ahtisham ul Haq said, “I am not a supporter of PTI, but, unfortunately, the current government is denying our basic human rights, it is purely a black decision, I condemned it”

Another internet user Saima Khan talked to EAT News, she said “Welcome to dark Pakistan where there is no light, no electricity, and no internet. This happening in a country which is 7th declared nuke state of the world”

Umer Farooq a student of a private university commented, “It is the violation of fundamental rights as conferred by the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I do not know who is poorly advising the government. We are living in the age of technology; they want to throw us back to the stone age”.

Yasir Baloch, a young PTI worker and die heart fan of Imran Khan told EAT News, “I want to inform the government, by using these tactics they cannot separate us from our political leader, it was not a wise decision to close phone networks and internet services in the country. I believe they do not have any idea that around the globe people will laugh at us. I am asking the current government is this wise decision to control social media through authoritative minds?”.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) urged the government and all other stakeholders to address the political crisis with dialogue and patience. The fundamental rights of citizens are being violated which is indeed stressful. The unnecessary use of force to detain the former prime minister of Pakistan from the premises of the court was unfortunate and caused a dent in the political structure of the country. HRCP also showed its deep concerns over the closure of the internet and social media websites as a governmental reaction by the sitting government. HRCP suggested that all stakeholders should use parliament and democratic forums to address political disputes.

On the other hand, the government handed over the security of the Red Zone to the armed forces of Pakistan. Red Zone is the most sensitive area of the capital consisting of the all-important institutions including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the National Assembly, the Senate, the President’s House, the PM House, the PM office, the Foreign Office, the Diplomatic Enclave, National Library, Election Commission of Pakistan and offices of different federal ministries. Many roads, highways, and motorways are closed with containers countrywide. On and off protests are still going on in the different localities of the country. Independent experts believe that the arrest of Imran Khan is very dangerous for a country that is already suffering due to economic, energy, and political crises. If the sitting government follows the instruction of the supreme court of Pakistan regarding timely elections, political turmoil could be reversed.