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ISLAMABAD —Pakistan's opposition party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan accused authorities of disrupting social media and internet services Saturday night to undermine its "virtual" election rally for the second time in two weeks.
Independent monitors reported that internet users across the nation of about 241 million people could not access YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram in the run-up to and during the evening online event organized by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.
"This is happening blatantly with no regrets whatsoever with a loud and clear message to the world that this illegitimate government doesn't care a bit about fundamental human rights or the right of free speech," said a PTI statement.
NetBlocks, an independent watchdog monitoring global cybersecurity and internet governance, confirmed what it said was a "nation-scale disruption" to social media platforms Saturday.
"The restrictions we've tracked in Pakistan systematically target the opposition political party PTI in a manner that's almost unprecedented globally in our records," Alp Toker, the director of the U.K.-based monitor, told VOA.
"The use of internet controls to selectively silence political discourse not only undermines the principles of democracy but also contravenes the fundamental rights of citizens to access information and freely express their opinions," Toker noted.
Murtaza Solangi, the information minister of Pakistan's caretaker government and the state-run telecom agency, acknowledged the disruption of internet services late Saturday but blamed it on "a technical fault."
Solangi and the agency said on X the fault "has been promptly rectified" and "internet services have been fully restored nationwide." PTI officials claimed internet services were restored, however, just when their online rally was about to end.
Pakistan is scheduled to hold national elections on February 8, prompting political parties to organize physical campaign rallies nationwide. But critics say the democratic process has been marred by pre-poll rigging, citing a military-backed government crackdown targeting the PTI to keep the party out of the race.
Khan and many senior party leaders have been barred from standing in elections over controversial corruption charges and allegations they had orchestrated attacks on military properties during PTI-led countrywide anti-government protests last year.
The suppression has forced the PTI to primarily rely on social media platforms to rally support for its candidates to circumvent a local media ban and government crackdown. Alleged deliberate internet disruptions, though, have blocked domestic supporters' effective participation in the events. They included PTI's January 7 online campaign launch event.
Critics such as Michael Kugelman, the South Asia Institute director at the Wilson Center, asserted that politically motivated internet outages are damaging Pakistan's struggling economy.
"Another PTI online event, another internet blockage. Hard to build a Digital Pakistan when you constantly crack down on it [it's happened for years]," Kugelman said on X. "Bangladesh and India do this too, but their economies are stronger & more resilient. Hurts Pakistan's economic prospects the most."
Toker cautioned the restrictive measures in the run-up to elections "appear to be undermining" the credibility of the caretaker government of Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and have "the potential to undermine the electoral process."
Recent public opinion polls, including a Gallup Pakistan survey, declared Khan, 71, the country's most popular politician.
The cricket hero-turned-prime minister was ousted from office in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote after developing differences with Pakistan's powerful military over key security appointments.
The military, notorious for making or breaking elected governments in Pakistan, has launched several coups and ruled the country for more than three decades.
Since his ouster, Khan has publicly accused the army of toppling his government at the behest of the United States and instituting dozens of frivolous lawsuits to keep him from leading PTI back to power.
Washington and Islamabad rejected the allegations. Khan was convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years in August, disqualifying him from holding public office for five years in line with election laws.
Pakistan's three-time former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, and his party are seen as front-runners in the upcoming elections.
Sharif returned home from self-imposed exile last October amid widespread allegations he had made a deal with the military to regain power through the vote.
After he landed in Pakistan, courts dissolved corruption charges against Sharif and lifted an election ban, paving the way for the 74-year-old politician to potentially become the prime minister for a fourth time.