Pakistan parliamentarians clash over months-long X shutdown

Pakistan's parliament debated the government's recent shutdown of social media platform X (formerly Twitter) and widespread internet disruptions on Wednesday, with opposition lawmakers demanding explanations while ministers defended the restrictions as necessary for national security.

The shutdown of X, which has been ongoing since February, has drawn criticism from civil rights groups who see it as part of a broader pattern of increasing digital censorship.

Members from both opposition and ruling parties pressed the government for answers during Wednesday's National Assembly session. Pakistan Peoples Party's Qadir Patel raised a point of order regarding internet shutdowns, slow connectivity, and social media platform restrictions across the country.

"The internet is either shut down or slow throughout the country," he said. "The minister of state for IT continues to hold press conferences and answer questions, but doesn't tell us why we don't have proper internet services in the country."

Parliament debates X shutdown

"We have never seen such a situation with internet services before," noted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Zahra Wadood, who asked if there was any hope of X reopening.

In response, Parliamentary Secretary for IT Sajid Mehdi said internet restrictions have been implemented on the advice of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi due to security concerns, adding that the Interior Ministry would determine the duration based on the security situation.

IT Minister Shaza Fatima claimed that regulating the internet is the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)'s mandate. "PTA has closed X following instructions from the Ministry of Interior," she said.

She defended the government from allegations of intentional censorship, saying, "the shutdown of X has nothing to do with freedom of expression - less than two percent of people in Pakistan use X. If our purpose was to restrict freedom of expression, we would have closed TikTok and Facebook."

The minister also defended Pakistan's record on free speech, claiming that criticism of the government showed just how much freedom existed. "The amount of freedom of expression that exists in Pakistan does not exist anywhere else", she said, arguing that public office holders are treated as "public property," facing harsh language and accusations, with no action taken against the perpetrators.⁣

Connectivity actually improving: IT minister

The minister further elaborated that internet usage and speed have increased, noting a 28 percent improvement in speed due to technical upgrades.

She acknowledged that users were experiencing problems due to various technical issues, but emphasized the need to embrace the positive aspects of digitization. "This year, we didn't even implement a complete internet shutdown during Ashura," she said.

While the government is making every effort to expand access to technology, she stressed that they must also focus on cybersecurity. "Nothing is more important than national security," she concluded.