Internet services being restored across Pakistan: PTA, ISLAMABAD The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority( PTA) said that mobile internet services were being restored across Pakistan after further than 72 hours of arrestment, ARY News reported on Friday.
According to a PTA prophet, internet services were being restored after directives to this end were entered from the interior ministry. The service would be restored in a staggered manner the PTA prophet said. Meanwhile, access to social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was also being restored.
The PTA had suspended internet services and confined 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 formerly three days, online hack and bike services were shut down due to the internet arrestment causing vexation to commuters who calculate on these services for transportation.
The government and mobile phone companies are facing a quotidian loss of one billion rupees due to the internet arrestment, sources said. This loss of profit is likely to have a significant impact on the formerly floundering economy of Pakistan. The decision to shut down mobile internet services has also been criticized by mortal rights activists and intelligencers, who say that it’s a violation of the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
The decision to restore the internet comes latterly, Islamabad High Court( IHC) barred authorities from arresting PTI Chairman Imran Khan in all cases, indeed 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 Jahangir 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 before this time for 10 days against surety bonds worth Rs 50,000. The Islamabad High Court( IHC) granted protective bail to former high minister Imran Khan in the Al- Qadir Trust case, a day after the Supreme Court ruled his arrest “ unlawful ”.
