Daily Times

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Friday gradually restored internet services all across Pakistan. The citizens heaved a sigh of relief as Internet got restored.

PTA stated internet service was being gradually restored adding that social media applications had also been reactivated. The internet services were suspended by PTA on Interior ministry’s instructions amidst protests erupted by Imran Khan’s arrest in Al-Qadir Trust corruption case.

Social media sites including Youtube, Twitter and Facebook services were also reactivated. 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”. Earlier, Amnesty International urged Pakistan authorities to lift restrictions on the internet services that were blocked after the arrest of Imran Khan in the Al Qadir Trust corruption case. 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.”

“The authorities must also ensure no arbitrary arrests are made and that there is evidence of reasonable suspicion of criminality for each arrest,” the campaigner said.

Meanwhile, a global organisation of mobile ecosystem, Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), had also expressed concern over the shutdown of broadband internet in Pakistan. In an emergency letter to Federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haq, the GSMA has pressed the government to put an end to internet disruptions. Condemning the decision to suspend internet services, the international organisation has said that the suspensions have impacted both consumers and businesses alike. Prolonged internet outages are causing problems for citizens’ health, education, social and economic well-being, and business and investment in the telecom sector have been severely affected, the GSMA reportedly said.