Following the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) suspended mobile broadband services across the country on Tuesday.
According to reports, the telecommunication authority confirmed that it had suspended the internet services following the instructions received from the interior ministry’s instructions.
A few reports also suggested that access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube was restricted across the country on Tuesday amid Khan’s arrest from the Islamabad High Court’s premises in the AL-Qadir Trust case.
Meanwhile, the human rights group Amnesty International called on PTA to restore internet services and access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube in the country.
Taking to their official Twitter handle, Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office stated, “Pakistan: Amid concerns about escalating clashed between Imran Khan’s supporters and the police, Amnesty International is alarmed by reports that Pakistani authorities have suspended mobile internet and access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.”
“This restricts people’s access to information and freedom of expression. We call upon the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and Interior Ministry to immediately reverse this ban,” it added.
After the former PM and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Imran Khan was arrested, several supporters staged protests leading to vandalism in the country.
Imran Khan was arrested outside Islamabad High Court on Tuesday. Khan has been implicated in over one hundred cases since his ouster from power in April last year.
He was ousted as PM after losing a no-confidence vote last year. Khan however alleged that his ouster was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China, and Afghanistan.
