A group of 28 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, have called for the immediate restoration of social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) in Pakistan almost a month after the blockade.
The joint statement signed by Amnesty International and civil society organizations called for immediate restoration of the platform. “We, a collective of human rights activists and civil society organizations, express profound concern over the increasing instances of internet shutdowns and social media platform blocking, specifically in the lead up to and following the general elections in Pakistan.
“These actions not only infringe upon the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information but also set a troubling precedent of throttling genuine political discourse including plurality of voices in the country.”
Amnesty described the “arbitrary” blocking of social media platforms as a “sobering illustration of growing digital censorship in the country.”
The statement added that “The complete silence of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is extremely alarming as they have failed to furnish any reasons for its actions and exceeded its mandate to block an entire internet platform. The absence of transparency in the decision-making processes surrounding network shutdowns and platform blocking and complete disregard for any accountability has resulted in an obvious erosion of trust between the state and its citizens.”
In the joint letter, the organizations said: “We are also dismayed by reports of throttling of VPNs, undermining people’s access to information and right to privacy,” as they called for immediate restoration of social media platforms.
The civil society organization urged the government, regulators and public bodies to:
- Immediately unblock Twitter/X in Pakistan.
- Repeal sections of the law such as Section 37 of PECA that enable censorship and violate Article 19 right to freedom of speech and press freedom and Article 19-A right of access to information.
- Act with transparency on decisions that impact the free use of the Internet, including for political and economic purposes.
- Issue a statement of clarification, outlining the reasons and legal basis for the recent blocking of “X” and other affected platforms.
- Avoid future actions that obstruct the free flow of information and adversely affect political discourse within the countries and take back all legislative proposals expanding control and censorship over the Internet.
- Abide by Pakistan’s commitments to uphold freedom of expression and right to access to information under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
In a joint statement posted on X, Amnesty International said that the social media platform has been blocked in the country since February 17, 2024. This was the time when a video surfaced on social media in which a government official confessed to manipulating votes in the February 8 general election amid rigged elections which the authorities denied. Netblocks, a UK-based internet watchdog, also confirmed a “national-scale” disruption of X that began amid protests by different political parties following the protests.
28 civil society organizations calling for immediate restoration of social media platform X
Amnesty International is one of 28 civil society organizations that have signed a joint statement calling for immediate restoration of the platform. All of the 28 signatories include:
- AGHS
- Bolo Bhi
- Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD)
- Digital Rights Foundation (DRF)
- Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA)
- Human Rights Watch (HRW)
- Freedom Network (FN)
- Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
- Bytes for All
- Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
- Women Democratic Front
- Access Now
- Awami Workers Party Islamabad/Rawalpindi
- Aurat March Lahore
- Digital Media Alliance of Pakistan (DigiMAP)
- Alliance for Diversity and Pluralism in Media in Pakistan
- Pakistan Digital Editors Alliance (PDEA)
- Pakistan Digital Media Association
- Progressive Students Federation
- Aurat March Islamabad
- Joint Action Committee for Refugees ( JACR)
- Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum
- Aurat March Karachi
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- Zuka Books
- Amnesty International
- Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists
- Pakistan Bar Council