• Information minister, PTA official link disruptions to ‘system installation issues’
• 500 social media accounts involved in ‘malicious campaign’ against judiciary being ‘monitored’, says FIA
• Rumours about polls delay ‘have died’, believes Solangi

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government has blamed “technical” and system installation issues for recent internet outages across the country and said there is “no guarantee” such incidents won’t occur in the future.

During a press conference with PTA Director General Ahmed Shamim Pirzada and FIA Cyber­crime Director Operations Waqaruddin Syed on Monday, caretaker Infor­mation Minister Murtaza Solangi was asked about the reasons behind the disruption of internet services and their impact on the country’s economy.

“The businesses, economy and the country are more important for us … As far as I know, its [internet outage] reasons are technical. There are some issues related to system installations. There is no guarantee that such interruptions won’t take place in future,” said Mr Solangi.

In the past month alone, three such nationwide disruptions have occurred — on Dec 17, Jan 7 and Jan 20. They coincided with PTI’s virtual events on social media platforms.

When a reporter asked if these disruptions on days of PTI’s virtual events were a “mere coincide­nce”, Mr Pirzada, the PTA DG, rebuffed the inference and said such outages had happened before as well.

“[In the past] services used to be interrupted for two to three months due to [fault in] submarine cables. Our software is being upgraded, and whenever a fault occurs in the process, it happens,” Mr Pirzada added.

He added that technical glitches occur when the system is being upgraded, which can “continue for two to three months”.

However, the explanation failed to gain much traction among the public, with digital experts and human rights activists criticising the government over frequent internet outages “on political grounds”.

Campaign against judiciary

Mr Solangi also said that authorities had identified around 500 social media accounts involved in running a “malicious campaign” against the judiciary.

“An investigation is underway. We are monitoring hundreds of accounts, and action will be taken against them,” he said, adding that these accounts were being operated from both within and outside the country.

He said judicial decisions were in the public domain and masses could comment on them, but those involved in malicious campaigns against the superior judiciary would be taken to task.

The minister said “malicious campaign” was condemnable but clarified that no group or person would be victimised during the action.

“Article 19 of the Consti­tution defines freedom of expression with certain restrictions,” he said, adding that those spreading lies and misleading the nation had vested interests. “I ask the public to beware of misleading and fake news.”

Last week, the interior ministry constituted a five-member joint investigation team (JIT) to “ascertain facts behind a malicious social media campaign” against Supreme Court judges.

The representatives of the Intelligence Bureau, Inter-Services Intelligence, PTA, and the DIG of Islamabad police were made part of the team, along with any co-opt member if required.

Mr Syed, the FIA director operations, also said around 500 accounts are being monitored, and as JIT’s investigation progresses, action will be taken against them.

He assured that the agency was on alert and would not delay taking action against “anti-state elements”.

“We will not allow anyone to eliminate the trust of the public in state institutions and use social media applications like a weapon against the country,” he said, adding that all FIA police stations had been directed to take immediate action in any such instance.

Mr Solangi lamented that some people “spread lies as a business” and asserted anyone who violated the law would be dealt with accordingly.

“As we head towards elections, fake ‘information’ will increase,” the minister warned, urging the public to verify content and information before sharing it onward.

‘Elections on time”

At a separate event, Mr Solangi said all assumptions and rumours regarding a delay in general elections have died, according to APP.

While addressing an event held by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (Pide), the minister said elections will be held on Thursday, February 8, and people will exercise their right to vote.

It was the responsibility of the caretaker government to support the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and it will fulfil its responsibility, he added.

Talking about the priorities of political parties, Mr Solangi said important issues like economy, foreign policy, education and health should be discussed, and awareness among people on national issues should be increased.

He said it was the obligation of the political parties to fulfil promises made to the electorate.

Kalbe Ali also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2024