The Pakistani government has restricted people's access to two more social media platforms - Facebook and Instagram - after successfully blocking X for more than six months. This move has been viewed as a foundation to a full complete shutdown of social media.
Facebook and Instagram have been restricted in Pakistan since Wednesday, causing users to experience difficulties accessing the social media platforms across various internet service providers (ISPs). Some users are also experiencing issues with other Meta-owned apps, such as WhatsApp.
There has been no official word so far from the Pakistani government regarding restrictions placed on access to Facebook and Instagram.
The ban comes amid an ongoing tussle between the superior judiciary, former premier Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the powerful military establishment which is apparently running the government.
Nayatel, a telecommunication company, said on X on Thursday: "Facebook and Instagram services have been disrupted with all service providers across the country for the last two days. This blockage is in addition to the already blocked Twitter/X.
We are waiting for a reply from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority for the reasons for this blockage and when this ban will be lifted."
Downdetector which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users showed that user reports indicated problems in accessing Facebook.
According to NetBlocks, a global internet tracking agency, "Restrictions on Facebook are in effect on multiple providers in Pakistan."
X (formerly Twitter) has been banned in Pakistan since February 17, 2024, following outrage on the "stolen mandate" of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) backed candidates in the February 8 general election.
Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir has already declared social media a "vicious media" and underscored the need to fight against this "digital terrorism."
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar who also has the portfolio of foreign minister has also called for placing a complete ban on social media.
Pakistan Govt, Military Face Backlash After Imran Khan's Ouster On Social Media
Both the military and the government have been receiving backlash on social media since the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.
The government has arrested dozens of social media activities of Khan's party since then.
Khan's PTI on Thursday lambasted placing restrictions on more social media apps like Facebook, saying: "After Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were also banned in Pakistan. Freedom of speech and access to information is not just a concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment, but also a right everyone’s born with."
The PTI further said that times like these when all tactics are being employed to blindside the most popular party of the country, thwarting freedom of speech even after oppression, now sounds like freedom to discriminate, by the power hub.
(With PTI Inputs)
