In addition to hundreds of arrests, digital rights activists claim that last month’s thousands-strong rally in Islamabad seeking the release of imprisoned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan also caused widespread internet outages and slowdowns.
In reaction to political unrest, Pakistan has a history of restricting internet access, either by outlawing social media platforms or by temporarily shutting down the internet completely.
Following the February legislative elections, in which the PTI won the most seats despite running without its recognizable “bat” symbol, the United States denounced internet shutdowns in Pakistan.
Internet-dependent businesses have expressed dissatisfaction about Pakistan’s implementation of a national firewall to monitor and control social media and content, which they claim could cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
