A supporter of Pakistani former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), holds a mobile phone during a protest demanding fair election results in Peshawar on Feb. 10.
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan is approaching a month without reliable access to the social media platform X, a blockage widely believed to be related to the country’s controversial elections and one that is taking a toll on both businesses and journalists.
Elon Musk’s platform stopped working in Pakistan on Feb. 17, after a government official blew the whistle on alleged tampering with the results of the Feb. 8 polls. It has been mostly blocked since, apart from a few brief interludes, the internet watchdog Netblocks recently confirmed.
Allies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan say the election was rigged to allow the military establishment’s preferred parties to form a government led by new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, even though independent candidates backed by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the most seats. The Election Commission denies any manipulation, but experts believe the clampdown on X is designed to keep a lid on public anger.
Even if the microblogging platform is ultimately unblocked, critics say the episode highlights the shrinking space for free expression in the country. On election day itself, the authorities cut off mobile access across the country, citing security reasons. During the campaign, access to X and other social networks was also interrupted, coinciding with PTI efforts to mobilize voters.
Although some are using virtual private networks as a workaround, experts argue the prolonged X blockage constrains journalists’ ability to do their jobs.
“The ongoing restrictions to X in Pakistan must end immediately,” said Beh Lih Yi, the Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “These harsh restrictions not only severely undermine freedom of expression, but they also hamper journalists’ ability to report and citizens’ right to stay informed.”
Pakistan is estimated to have a relatively modest 4.5 million X users, according to the information site DataReportal. But Amjad Qammar, the program manager at Bytes for All, a digital rights organization based in Islamabad, pointed out that a large number of key politicians and important figures communicate with the public and media through the platform. So the suspension “is not only blocking social interaction but affecting this communication channel among different communities.”
Despite the limitations affecting the general public, the accounts of the prime minister and other officials were still active through mid-March.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority — the body responsible for regulating social media and the internet — did not respond to Nikkei Asia’s questions. A government official privy to the developments told Nikkei on condition of anonymity that there is no time frame for restoring full X access.
Experts agree that the ban is being enforced to blunt criticism of the government and the army.
Sabookh Syed, a political analyst in Islamabad, questions whether that is effective: “Many people criticizing [the military] establishment are based out of Pakistan, and the ban on X will not affect them,” he said. “Hence the blocking of X has not served its purpose.”
Syed, who is also president of the Digital Media Alliance of Pakistan (DigiMAP), complained that the clampdown “has completely disrupted the information ecosystem in Pakistan.”
“Journalists use [X] to get leads, verify news stories and get more details, and now they are deprived of that due to blockage in Pakistan,” Syed said.
The blockage is in defiance of the high court in the province of Sindh, which ordered the government to restore access to X on Feb. 21. “The continued inaction on the high court’s ruling raises serious questions about Pakistan’s commitment to democracy and human rights,” said Beh from the Committee to Protect Journalists.
In the meantime, businesses are also feeling the impact.
“The community [in Pakistan] which is earning through X monetization is facing financial losses,” said Qammar at Bytes for All. “The businesses are not able to target specific local and international audiences using X services.”
Qammar suggested that such restrictions could have a wider economic dampening effect. “Due to the uncertainty of digital infrastructure, investors and companies avoid investing their resources in the country, which ultimately affects the local business,” he told Nikkei.
Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, left, takes the oath of office at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad on March 4.Providers of VPNs, at least, are beneficiaries. Pakistan has seen a 6,000% increase in VPN usage in the past 12 months, according to a report by Proton, a Switzerland-based privacy-focused company that also operates VPNs.
Nevertheless, experts say VPNs are not a viable solution.
“Not all people can use VPNs in Pakistan, and as a result the reach of X’s posts has declined significantly,” Syed said. “The workable VPNs require payment via credit cards, which many people lack in Pakistan.”
Qammar said it is challenging for many to use VPNs because “Pakistan’s internet infrastructure is notably weak,” adding that the government has taken measures to block the internet addresses and computer port numbers used by free VPNs.
Now it falls to Sharif, who assumed office last week, to address the issue — one of a litany of challenges facing his fledgling government amid an economic crisis.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif must ensure freedom of expression and press freedom are protected and upheld in his newly elected administration, if Pakistan wants to be taken seriously as a democracy,” Beh said.
Likewise, after Sharif’s election by the National Assembly, Reporters Without Borders issued an urgent call to his new government to “remedy an extremely degraded press freedom environment.” The statement stressed, “The arbitrary shutdowns of the Internet and mobile services and blocking of social media for political purposes is unacceptable in a democracy.”