The United States on Wednesday condemned Pakistan’s internet shutdowns, including restrictions on social media platforms, and urged the Pakistani government to lift the restrictions.
Pakistan on Saturday imposed internet blackouts and restrictions on social media apps such as X (formerly Twitter) after a senior government official publicly admitted to vote-rigging in the February 8 election.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that the United States is concerned about reports of restrictions on freedom of speech and association in Pakistan, “including partial or total government shutdowns of the internet and certainly of social media platforms.”
He added that Washington continues to call on Pakistan to respect free speech and “restore access to any restricted social media, including Twitter, now known as X”. Miller said U.S. concerns had been communicated to Pakistan through official channels.
“We have and will continue to stress the importance of respecting these fundamental freedoms when engaging with Pakistani officials,” he added.
Netblocks, a global internet monitoring agency, cited examples of restrictions related to electoral fraud. Netblocks said: “Indicators show that X/Twitter remains largely restricted in Pakistan after the past four days; the platform was restricted on Saturday after information related to election fraud was circulated.”
Pakistanis went to the polls earlier this month. Allegations of fraud emerged as results were unusually delayed and mobile internet was shut down on polling day.
After the election, the United States, Britain and the European Union each expressed concerns about Pakistan’s electoral process.
The United States has called for an investigation into the fraud allegations but declined to comment on the composition of the alliance, which requires formal approval by the National Assembly.
“Whenever you see coalition politics happening within any given country, that’s a decision for that country itself, not something that we weigh in on,” Miller said.
Pakistan was a Cold War ally of the United States and provided logistical support to the war in Afghanistan, but relations have soured amid U.S. accusations of secret support for helping the Taliban return to power and the U.S.’s recent embrace of Pakistan’s rival India.
Two major dynastic parties, the army-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), late on Tuesday announced an alliance with smaller parties to govern the world’s fifth most populous country.
(Institutional investment)
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Published: February 22, 2024 10:36 AM (IST)