For the past seven days, Pakistan has blocked X formerly Twitter after a senior government official made a public admission of vote manipulation in the February 8 election. Pakistan's Twitter ban took place last Saturday when the official exposed the Pakistani Army and its so-called democratic elections. Not only this, the United States on Wednesday condemned the internet shutdowns in Pakistan, including the restrictions on social media platforms, and has urged the Pakistani government to lift them. X ban in Pakistan was first observed over the weekend when the political party of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced protests against what it says were rigged Feb. 8 parliamentary elections.
The U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller expressed concerns over restrictions on the freedom of expression and association in Pakistan. Mathew was quoted saying, "We continue to call on Pakistan to respect freedom of expression and restore access to a social media that has been restricted including Twitter, now known as X," Miller said adding "We have and will continue to emphasize the importance of respecting these fundamental freedoms during our engagements with Pakistani officials."
It is pertinent to mention here that Imran Khan’s rivals, including the former Premier Shehbaz Sharif, are trying to form a coalition government. Sharif replaced Khan after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022. Imran Khan has since then been convicted of offenses in what his supporters call politically motivated moves to keep him out of office.
A user wrote, "There are rumours that Pakistan has imposed ban on X (Twitter) as a precautionary measure against the protests called by Imran Khan."
Another user wrote, "Hey @elonmusk , did you know that in Pakistan, we can't access @X ? It's been banned for a few days now. We're using VPNs to access it. While you're busy suspending accounts, have you ever inquired about the ban of @X here? "
Another user wrote, "Dear @elonmusk There are good number of X users in Pakistan but our authorities has blocked this app in Pakistan to suppress people’s voices against rigging and fascism. X authorities should write to Pakistani authorities to immediately lift this ban as it is a restriction on free speech."