Kingdom come
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2021
- Messages
- 1,008
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
Mohammed Faisal, a food delivery driver in Karachi, has lost 6,000 rupees ($20) over the past three days.
The 26-year-old relies on WhatsApp messaging service to receive and track the locations of his food orders.
He uses his trusty motorbike and a smartphone with mobile broadband internet to traverse the main roads, narrow streets, and densely populated neighbourhoods in Pakistan’s largest and most-populous city.
Since the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan three days ago, mobile internet services remain suspended across the country.
Khan was ordered to be released on Thursday, after the country’s top court termed his arrest illegal. However, the mobile broadband shutdown was not lifted.
Commuters ride past a burnt vehicle set on fire during a protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters of former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan over the arrest of their leader
Commuters ride past a vehicle set on fire during a protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan over his arrest, in Lahore, May 11, 2023 [Arif ALI/ AFP]
In a metropolis where street names and house numbers are rarely used for navigation, Faisal’s work has come to a near halt without access to the internet when he is out on the road.
“I can’t get orders because mobile data isn’t working,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that he incurs fuel wastage while trying to locate addresses without navigation apps.
Security forces have blocked several roads and intersections in major cities in an attempt to deter protesters.
“Roadblocks and data outage have ruined my livelihood,” Faisal said.
Information blackout
Nearly 125 million people have been affected by the government’s decision to suspend mobile broadband and block access to social media apps.
Mohammad Fayyaz, who lives in a village in the eastern province of Punjab, feels cut off from the rest of the country during a time of major political upheaval.
“We use YouTube to watch the news, but with most social media apps being restricted since Tuesday, we feel disconnected from the events taking place in Islamabad or Lahore,” he told Al Jazeera from his village, Maanga, 255km (158 miles) east of the capital where Khan was taken away by paramilitary forces on Tuesday.
ficulty in using social apps including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid denied that the apps were blocked by the telecom authority.
“These apps are still working, but on throttle, so you can’t say they are blocked,” she said, referring to a practice used by internet providers to restrict internet speed without informing users.
A report by Open Observatory, a global open data resource that monitors internet censorship, shows that YouTube, Facebook and Twitter were restricted by service providers on Tuesday evening, while users were unable to access Instagram after Wednesday morning.
Global condemnation
The shutdown has been criticised by rights organisations, who have called on the Pakistani government to lift the restrictions.
www.aljazeera.com
The 26-year-old relies on WhatsApp messaging service to receive and track the locations of his food orders.
He uses his trusty motorbike and a smartphone with mobile broadband internet to traverse the main roads, narrow streets, and densely populated neighbourhoods in Pakistan’s largest and most-populous city.
Since the arrest of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan three days ago, mobile internet services remain suspended across the country.
Khan was ordered to be released on Thursday, after the country’s top court termed his arrest illegal. However, the mobile broadband shutdown was not lifted.
Commuters ride past a burnt vehicle set on fire during a protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters of former Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan over the arrest of their leader
Commuters ride past a vehicle set on fire during a protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party activists and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan over his arrest, in Lahore, May 11, 2023 [Arif ALI/ AFP]
In a metropolis where street names and house numbers are rarely used for navigation, Faisal’s work has come to a near halt without access to the internet when he is out on the road.
“I can’t get orders because mobile data isn’t working,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that he incurs fuel wastage while trying to locate addresses without navigation apps.
Security forces have blocked several roads and intersections in major cities in an attempt to deter protesters.
“Roadblocks and data outage have ruined my livelihood,” Faisal said.
Information blackout
Nearly 125 million people have been affected by the government’s decision to suspend mobile broadband and block access to social media apps.
Mohammad Fayyaz, who lives in a village in the eastern province of Punjab, feels cut off from the rest of the country during a time of major political upheaval.
“We use YouTube to watch the news, but with most social media apps being restricted since Tuesday, we feel disconnected from the events taking place in Islamabad or Lahore,” he told Al Jazeera from his village, Maanga, 255km (158 miles) east of the capital where Khan was taken away by paramilitary forces on Tuesday.
ficulty in using social apps including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid denied that the apps were blocked by the telecom authority.
“These apps are still working, but on throttle, so you can’t say they are blocked,” she said, referring to a practice used by internet providers to restrict internet speed without informing users.
A report by Open Observatory, a global open data resource that monitors internet censorship, shows that YouTube, Facebook and Twitter were restricted by service providers on Tuesday evening, while users were unable to access Instagram after Wednesday morning.
Global condemnation
The shutdown has been criticised by rights organisations, who have called on the Pakistani government to lift the restrictions.
‘Ruined my livelihood’: Pakistan internet shutdown hits millions
No sign of restrictions being lifted despite information blackout and losses suffered by daily-wage earners, businesses.
