Rights groups urge Pakistan to restore X, blocked for 29 days

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) — Over two dozen domestic and international human rights organizations have urged Pakistan to restore X after the South Asian country banned the social media platform 29 days ago.

In a joint statement issued late on Friday, 28 rights groups, including Amnesty International, expressed "profound concern" over increasingly frequent Internet shutdowns and social media platform blocking, specifically in the lead up to general elections last month and their aftermath.

"The complete silence of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is extremely alarming as they have failed to furnish any reasons for its actions and exceeded its mandate to block an entire internet platform," said the statement.

Pakistan's government blocked open access to X on Feb. 17 as allegations of rigging during the elections on Feb. 8 continued to make headlines.

The ban was imposed after an elections officer in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, Liaqat Ali Chattha, publicly claimed to have allegedly changed election results in his area. It soon went viral on social media.

The government, as well as the Pakistan Election Commission, have rejected any wrongdoing.

X users in Pakistan are currently using virtual private networks (VPN) to post on the platform.

"The absence of transparency in the decision-making processes surrounding network shutdowns and platform blocking and complete disregard for any accountability has resulted in an obvious erosion of trust between the state and its citizens, said Amnesty.

"We are also dismayed by reports of throttling of VPNs, undermining people’s access to information and right to privacy. In light of these concerns, we call for immediate action to reverse the course of digital censorship in Pakistan," it added.

The rights groups demanded authorities immediately unblock X and repeal legislation allowing censorship and violating freedom of speech and the press, as well as the right of access to information.