PTA issues new statement on internet restoration

After four days of imposing blockades, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday stated that it had not yet received any directives from the Ministry of Interior regarding the restoration of internet services.

The mobile internet services were blocked across the country on May 9 (Tuesday) after Rangers, on the directives of the National Accountability Bureau, arrested Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) —  a move that sparked clashes between security forces and protesters that left at least eight people dead.

Enraged PTI supporters resorted to violence attacking military and government buildings in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar.

The PTA suspended internet services at the direction of the Ministry of Interior as the latter wanted to control the situation by restricting the flow of fake news. 

Meanwhile, access to major social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube has also been blocked since then.

In a statement today, the telecommunication authority said that mobile internet services across the country will remain suspended until further notice.

However, it added, broadband internet service was available to the users.

Earlier on Thursday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that mobile internet services will hopefully be restored in the next 36 hours.

Amnesty International expresses reservations

Amnesty International on Friday urged Pakistan authorities to lift restrictions on the internet services that were blocked after the arrest of former premier Imran Khan in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case.

Rimmel Mohydin, the South Asian campaigner at Amnesty International, said: "There is an urgent need to de-escalate the situation in Pakistan as it threatens further severe violations of rights of the people and risks more fatalities."

While asking officials to restrain from excessive use of force, she added: "The authorities should be aiming to defuse the situation and the use of force by the state must go no further than is necessary and proportionate. Amnesty International strongly urges Pakistani authorities to exercise restraint and use minimum force without resorting to the use of firearms to disperse protesters."

"The authorities must also ensure no arbitrary arrests are made and that there is evidence of reasonable suspicion of criminality for each arrest," the campaigner said.

"Alarmingly, the government has announced that the mobile internet shutdown is 'indefinite' which is a clear violation of people’s right to access information and free expression," she maintained.

"The ban on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube also creates a permissive environment for other human rights violations under the darkness of the internet shutdown," Mohydin highlighted, adding that "the restrictions must be lifted immediately."