Pakistan temporarily blocks social media platforms

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday temporarily blocked all major social media platforms in a bid to prevent protesters linked to a far-right group, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), from coordinating mass demonstrations demanding the eviction of the French ambassador from the country.
“Complete access to social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Telegram) may be blocked from 11am to 3pm on April 16 across the country,” read a notification issued by the interior (home) ministry to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA).“It is requested that immediate action may be taken on the subject matter under intimation to this ministry,” it added.
A day earlier, interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had admitted that the government’s negotiations with TLP had suffered because the now-proscribed TLP would issue directions to its supporters for blockades in major cities via social media. “They were more prepared than us,” he said.
The ministry had also, over the past week, blocked internet access on cell phones in areas under blockade in a bid to prevent the demonstrators from calling on more support. Internet service on several mobile phone services still remain blocked.
Some rights activists criticized Friday’s social media blackout, warning it could lead to more severe curbs on freedoms.
Meanwhile, the detained TLP chief Saad Rizvi, in a purported handwritten note, shared by the government, had urged his followers to maintain law and order and avoid blocking roads and highways.
In the letter, Rizvi had asked TLP supporters to peacefully go back to their homes and cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
Many of the TLP supporters, however, insisted they won’t stop unless the words come from Rizvi himself before stopping.