Social media platforms back in Pakistan after over 72-hour suspension

The social media platforms, which were suspended for the last over three days after protests erupted across the country, have been restored. 

Users had started complaining about Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter being inaccessible shortly after protests almost across the country following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on May 9.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) confirmed late on Friday that it had started restoring internet across Pakistan, days after it blocked mobile broadband services across the country.

The PTA had suspended mobile broadband services across the country on Tuesday night on the orders of the interior ministry — the longest such continuous shutdown in a country that often suspends communications as a tool to quell unrest.

The internet suspension has resulted in an approximate revenue loss of Rs820 million for telecom operators, reports have suggested, a huge dent to the sector, as the economy remains in a fragile state.

Besides, the government had also blocked major social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook, while YouTube services were slower to control the spread of disinformation and panic among the masses due to the spread of "unwanted information".

The decision to restore the internet comes a day after the Supreme Court declared Khan’s arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) “illegal” and directed the authorities to release him “immediately”.

The top court also asked the PTI chief to approach the IHC for bail. Subsequently, Khan appeared in front of the high court today, which granted him two-weeks protective bail in the Al-Qadir Trust case — in which the PTI chief was arrested — and barred authorities from arresting him in any other case till May 15.

Amnesty International expresses reservations

Earlier today, Amnesty International urged Pakistan authorities to lift restrictions on the internet services.

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."

"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."