ISLAMABAD, Pakistan
Pakistan has temporarily suspended mobile phone network and internet services across the country to combat any "possible threats," a top ministry said, as the South Asian nation commences its national election.
In a statement, Pakistan's
interior ministry said the move was prompted by recent incidents of terrorism
in the country. The internet was accessible through wired broadband
connections, local journalists posted on X earlier Thursday. But NetBlocks, an
independent service that tracks outages, said later that Pakistan had started
to block internet services as well.
The polls have opened in the
nation and will close at 5 p.m. The interior ministry didn't say when it will
switch back on the mobile services.
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Though it's not unprecedented
for a nation to switch off the mobile networks and internet on key days --
governments in countries including neighbor nation India, Uganda and Ethiopia
in Africa have also made similar moves in the past -- a nationwide block is
still very uncommon.
Free speech advocates have
criticized governments in the past for what they see as overuse of mobile
network shutdowns, arguing access to information and communication should be
maintained even more during political votes.
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