X, formerly known as Twitter, remains inaccessible to Pakistanis even after more than six days have passed since the disruption began. The caretaker government has not provided any explanation for the prolonged outage.
The disruption started on Saturday last week, leaving thousands of Pakistanis unable to access the platform. Despite Twitter being a popular source of information dissemination for many in the country, there has been no official statement from the government regarding the issue.
Caretaker Minister for Information and Technology, Dr. Umar Saif, has not commented on the matter, and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has yet to issue any statement explaining the disruption.
Also Read: X, formerly Twitter, services face disruption in Pakistan for fourth day
According to website tracker Downdetector.com, user reports suggest possible problems with Twitter.
Pakistan, despite being among the top internet user populations globally, faces challenges with internet availability and reportedly experiences intermittent disruptions to access social media platforms by authorities.
Ahead of the February 8 general elections, users faced difficulties accessing several social media sites, which authorities attributed to errors. On polling day, internet shutdowns were implemented for security reasons, according to the caretaker government. Following the elections, there were continued disruptions in accessing Twitter.
Internet shutdowns in Pakistan directly infringe upon constitutionally guaranteed rights such as freedom of information, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. In a February 2018 ruling, the Islamabad High Court declared internet shutdowns unconstitutional and against fundamental rights.
Digital rights activists have criticized the government for disrupting access to Twitter and have condemned the lack of transparency in this regard.
In a recent development, the Sindh High Court ordered the PTA to fully restore access to Twitter across the country and requested a detailed response from the authority and other concerned parties in a subsequent hearing. However, the PTA has yet to allow accessibility to the platform.
