Pakistan restricts internet ahead of virtual Imran Khan rally 

Pakistani authorities are accused of temporarily slowing down internet services yesterday and blocking access to major social media platforms, coinciding with a planned “virtual jalsa (meeting)” organised by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Several Pakistani netizens took to social media to complain about problems accessing X and other social media platforms and of the slow speed of the internet, although some managed to overcome this by using virtual private networks (VPN).

Having trouble accessing Twitter/X and other social media platforms. Overall internet seems slow as well. Anyone else in Pakistan facing the same?

— Wajahat Kazmi (@KazmiWajahat) December 17, 2023

An article on the PTI website said: “The timing of the internet outage has raised eyebrows, occurring just before the PTI’s virtual assembly scheduled for 9:00 pm. Netblocks, an internet watchdog, highlighted this temporal correlation, leading to speculation about a potential connection between the outage and the political event.”

“It is absolutely despicable that in an era that boasts connectivity and open dialogue, we are witnessing a flagrant suppression of free speech and that too, on a national scale,” it said, adding that the move represents a clear infringement on the basic right to self-expression.

READ: Pakistan ex-diplomat likens Imran Khan’s overthrow to Egypt’s coup against Morsi

“The audacity of this blatant suppression is not just an affront to the citizens it seeks to control; it lays bare the regime’s utter incompetence in maintaining a resilient digital infrastructure,” the PTI said.

Internet Outage Disrupts Online Services in Pakistan Amid PTI Virtual Jalsa
In an era where openness and freedom are valued more than ever, these authoritarian maneuvers stand as relics of an oppressive past.
Read the full article at: https://t.co/KYn1FUbBAG#PTIVirtualJalsa… pic.twitter.com/JWEVhb8G5b

— PTI (@PTIofficial) December 18, 2023

Imran Khan has been incarcerated since he was convicted and sentenced to three years on corruption charges on 5 August, having been ousted in a no confidence vote last year, allegedly after falling foul of the powerful military establishment. The timing of the jalsa comes a couple months before Pakistan’s scheduled general elections on 8 February.

A report today by Reuters said that Khan had resorted to using an audio clip generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to address supporters in the online event.

In the speech which drew over 1.4 million views on YouTube and was attended live by tens of thousands on other social media platforms, the popular leader said, “Our party is not allowed to hold public rallies,” urging supporters to turn out in large numbers for the elections. “Our people are being kidnapped and their families are being harassed,” he also claimed.

READ: TIMELINE – From ouster to arrest: Key dates in Imran Khan saga in Pakistan