Pakistan’s internet was blacked out as millions of people headed to vote.
Today, February 8, 2024, Pakistanis were called to vote in parliamentary elections that had already been marred by months of dissent, censorship and violence. Finally, the government decided to shut down mobile networks and other internet data as voting began.
Authorities claim the online disruption was a necessary safety measure following yesterday’s terrorist attack in Balochistan province, which left at least 28 people dead. However, experts have expressed concern about the government’s decision, calling it a “disproportionate action” that could endanger democracy. Even the best of his VPN services cannot handle this type of internet shutdown, so voters were negatively affected by the shutdown throughout the day.
election censorship in pakistan
“Today’s events represent a major setback for Pakistan’s democracy,” NetBlock founder and director Alp Tokar told me.
UK-based internet watchdog NetBlocks, reported Pakistan’s mobile internet has been disrupted since early morning, severely impacting Zong, the country’s second-largest telecommunications operator.fix internet outage recordedeven across multiple regions.
“Some of Pakistan’s censorship measures can be effectively circumvented using a VPN, for example when social media is targeted, but in the event of a mobile or landline power outage, users will be forced to return online. We have very few means,” Toker explained. .
A VPN, short for Virtual Private Network, is security software that both encrypts your Internet connection and disguises your IP address. The latter skill is exactly what is needed to get around geo-restrictions, and is also the reason why spikes in VPN usage are usually recorded when governments impose obstacles to the internet.but, you are Must To do this, you need to be connected to the web.
All of this meant there were few ways to stay connected during this critical time.as Al Jazeera reported, people lamented not being able to access the information they needed to vote correctly, such as candidate names and party symbols. They were also unable to effectively plan communication between citizens and travel to polling stations.
Toker said he is also tracking an increase in satellite network usage due to the voting day closure. However, “this is not very popular among the general population,” he added.
Interesting – At the same moment that voting for today’s elections began and telecommunications networks were shut down across #Pakistan, satellite internet operator Yahsat (YahClick) saw a significant increase in connectivity – who is behind this exclusive service? I don’t know if it is provided by 🛰️ (via data @netblocks) pic.twitter.com/DR9hkgEpewFebruary 8, 2024
This is not the first time Pakistani authorities have cut off internet connectivity to suppress political opposition. As Tokar pointed out, “Pakistan’s election day internet blackout followed months of nationwide network censorship targeting former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, the PTI.”
In fact, the most recent such event occurred exactly one month after the election. At the time, the government restricted access to popular social media platforms during an online event hosted by the jailed former prime minister’s party. However, unlike today, citizens back then could utilize his VPN app to continue accessing the open internet.
In fact, VPN provider Proton VPN has seen a steady increase in domestic users for TechRadar in recent months.
“We observed three VPN spikes in January 2023 that coincided with internet outages apparently planned to disrupt online events hosted by Pakistan’s opposition party, PTI. In the first half of the year, we saw a 400% increase in sign-ups for Proton VPN.As a result, we are now averaging 40% more users per day than two months ago,” says VPN Leader at Proton VPN. , said Samuele Kaplun.
Digital rights advocates and internet experts have long warned that such measures would seriously impede democratic processes and efforts to track and report potential voting fraud. They are now calling on authorities to immediately reconnect Pakistan’s internet.
Felicia Antonio, #KeepItOn campaign manager for Access Now, which works to prevent internet shutdowns around the world, said: “Total shutting off of access to mobile communications on election day is an impossible task on any given day. “This is unacceptable. The people of Pakistan need access to the internet to stay safe.” She said: “Free, fair and inclusive elections. The authorities’ decision to cut off access to information undermines the integrity of Pakistan’s elections.”
