Internet services being restored across Pakistan: PTA

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that mobile internet services were being restored across Pakistan after more than 72 hours of shutdown, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to a PTA spokesperson, internet services were being restored after directives to this end were received from the interior ministry.

The service would be restored in a staggered manner, the PTA spokesperson said. Meanwhile, access to social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was also being restored.

The PTA had suspended internet services and restricted access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube on the interior ministry’s instructions in the wake of violent protests sparked by PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest on Tuesday.

For the past three days, online taxi and bike services were shut down due to the internet shutdown, causing inconvenience to commuters who rely on these services for transportation.

The government and mobile phone companies are facing a daily loss of one billion rupees due to the internet shutdown, sources said. This loss of revenue is likely to have a significant impact on the already struggling economy of Pakistan.

The decision to shut down mobile internet services has also been criticised by human rights activists and journalists, who say that it is a violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information.

The decision to restore the internet comes after , Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred authorities from arresting PTI Chairman Imran Khan in all cases, even those are undisclosed, registered across the country until Monday (May 15).

The court also granted protective bail to PTI chief in three terrorism cases registered against him in Lahore and stopped authorities from arresting him till May 17 in any case registered in Islamabad after May 9.

Justice Jahangiri also approved Imran’s protective bail in a case pertaining to the death of Zille Shah — a PTI worker who was killed during a party rally in Lahore earlier this year — for 10 days against surety bonds worth Rs50,000.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted protective bail to former prime minister Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust case, a day after the Supreme Court ruled his arrest “unlawful”.