{"id":15264,"date":"2024-02-08T12:47:35","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T12:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/08\/mobile-internet-suspended-as-pakistan-heads-to-polls-in-election-mired-in-controversy\/"},"modified":"2024-02-08T12:47:35","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T12:47:35","slug":"mobile-internet-suspended-as-pakistan-heads-to-polls-in-election-mired-in-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/08\/mobile-internet-suspended-as-pakistan-heads-to-polls-in-election-mired-in-controversy\/","title":{"rendered":"Mobile internet suspended as Pakistan heads to polls in election mired in controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Pakistani authorities shut mobile internet services across the country as millions headed <\/strong>to the polls on Thursday for an election in which old dynasties are vying for power while the country\u2019s widely popular former leader languishes behind bars and militants ramp up deadly attacks. <\/p>\n

The much-anticipated vote, already delayed for months, comes as the country of 220 million faces mounting challenges \u2013 from economic uncertainty and frequent militant attacks, to climate catastrophes that are putting its most vulnerable at risk. <\/p>\n

In a vivid illustration of the surging political violence in the run up to the vote, 30 people were killed in twin blasts targeting campaign offices in the country\u2019s restive Balochistan province on Wednesday, which the Islamic State Pakistan Province militant group claimed responsibility for. <\/p>\n

On Thursday, another blast in the region killed two security personnel and injured seven more people at a polling station. <\/p>\n

And Mohsin Dawar, a former member of the\u00a0Pakistani National Assembly, said Taliban militants had taken over polling stations in the country\u2019s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. <\/p>\n

\u201cMilitants have been issuing threats to the locals and to the polling staff,\u201d he wrote in a letter to the Election Commission of\u00a0Pakistan Thursday, adding that three female polling agents \u201cvery narrowly escaped attacks\u201d in a polling station. <\/p>\n

Pakistan\u2019s Interior Ministry said Thursday it had decided to temporarily suspend mobile internet services nationwide. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result of the recent incidents of terrorism in the country, precious lives have been lost, security measures are essential to maintain the law and order situation and deal with possible threats,\u201d a statement from the ministry said. <\/p>\n

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chair of the Pakistan People\u2019s Party (PPP) and one of the candidates for prime minister, said he has asked his party to approach the country\u2019s Election Commission and the courts over the restrictions. <\/p>\n

\u201cMobile phone services must be restored immediately,\u201d he wrote on social media platform X. <\/p>\n

Some activists accused the authorities of censorship, saying the internet suspension was \u201cpolitical in nature\u201d and not \u201cmandated by the court.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to the internet during elections is critical as evidence of instances of rigging can be reported live by citizens on social media, and journalists can report live,\u201d said Usama Khilji, a digital rights activist from Islamabad. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot having internet access can create a sense of panic for voters, and discourage some from going to vote, especially women voters for whom mobility is already an impediment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pakistan\u00a0will also temporarily close its border crossings with Iran and Afghanistan as a security measure, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch. <\/p>\n

Elsewhere, political tensions are running high amid accusations of interference by the military, which it denies. <\/p>\n

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker T\u00fcrk, urged authorities to ensure a \u201cfully free and fair vote\u201d in a statement Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\u201cElections are an important moment to reaffirm the country\u2019s commitment to human rights and democracy, and to ensure the right to participation of all its people, including women and minorities,\u201d OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell added. <\/p>\n

Analysts have described the vote as the least credible in the country\u2019s post-independence history, accusing authorities of \u201cpre-poll rigging\u201d amid a wide crackdown on popular former leader Imran Khan\u2019s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. <\/p>\n

Cricket icon Khan, 71, who was ousted from power in a storm of controversy, remains imprisoned on multiple convictions and banned from contesting the vote against his rivals. The PTI has been prohibited from using its famous cricket bat symbol on ballots, dealing a blow to millions of illiterate people who might use it to cast their vote, and television stations are banned from running Khan\u2019s speeches. <\/p>\n

His longtime foe, veteran politician Nawaz Sharif, 74, a scion of the elite Sharif political dynasty, is seeking a historic fourth term as leader in what would be a remarkable political comeback following years of self-exile overseas after he was sentenced to prison on corruption charges. <\/p>\n

Sharif remains widely popular in Pakistan\u2019s Punjab province \u2013 the country\u2019s most populous and a key electoral battleground \u2013 where his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party has been lauded for advancing mega infrastructural projects. <\/p>\n

Standing against him is Bhutto Zardari, the 35-year-old son of slain former leader Benazir Bhutto, seeking to reestablish his Pakistan People\u2019s Party as a major political force. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pakistani authorities shut mobile internet services across the country as millions headed to the polls on Thursday for an election in which old dynasties are vying for power while the country\u2019s widely popular former leader languishes behind bars and militants ramp up deadly attacks. The much-anticipated vote, already delayed for months, comes as the country <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}