X (formerly Twitter) has been inaccessible in Pakistan for nearly 48 hours, a move that coincides with concerns raised over irregularities in the February 8 general elections. The blockage came shortly after Commissioner Rawalpindi confessed to involvement in election rigging in his division, sparking widespread shock and condemnation.

Users in Pakistan have been relying on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to circumvent the block and access the social media platform. However, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has remained silent on the matter, offering no official explanation or statement regarding the blockage.

Minister for Information Technology, Umar Saif, known for his active presence on social media, has been notably silent on questions from netizens regarding the shutdown of X. Despite sharing other updates and reports, including one from GitHub, Saif faced criticism and trolling from users who pointed out the irony of him using a VPN to access the platform he oversees. The prolonged blockage of X has raised concerns about freedom of speech and access to information in Pakistan, particularly in light of the ongoing political turmoil surrounding the election irregularities.

Pakistan’s IT industry is taking off … pic.twitter.com/jaEBZa3huM

— Umar Saif (@umarsaif) February 17, 2024

Here’s what netizens had to say:

Bhae vpn off kr k kro tweet. https://t.co/lP3WfOnNSj

— Umer (@GoStudyUmer) February 19, 2024

https://twitter.com/mardgeer123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1759472521903026258%7Ctwgr%5Eba66a166903e0331e495832e437e0b7622d3fc99%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpropakistani.pk%2F%3Fp%3D756256

genius is tweeting this with VPN https://t.co/2KVPfXtdQh

— Umar Aftab Butt (@documaraftab) February 18, 2024