Pakistan says it will consider shutting down internet on Feb 8 polling day if...

Interim Interior Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz stated on Tuesday that the caretaker administration in Pakistan will only think about blocking internet access on election day, Thursday, if a district or province requests it. “So far, there has been no decision made regarding the suspension of internet services at any place. The caretaker government will consider shutting down the internet connections only if there is a request,” The News International newspaper quoting him as saying. Ejaz and interim Information Minister Murtaza Solangi were giving a press conference. Ejaz’s declaration is significant because, just the day before, Solangi had rejected the idea of a February 8 internet outage. The interim minister of information for Balochistan, Jan Achakzai, had earlier on Sunday said that on election day, internet access would be temporarily blocked in the province’s most important polling places. Speaking on Tuesday on the state of law and order, Ejaz stated that the government was working to ensure that elections were held peacefully and without any fatalities. According to Geo News, the Sindh High Court (SHC) maintained its stay order on Tuesday, ordering the government to maintain nationwide internet access, including mobile access, until the elections on February 8. The SHC ordered the relevant authorities on January 24 to guarantee that all residents have continuous access to internet services through the elections on February 8. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) attorney did not show up for the hearing, therefore the high court postponed it until February 21. Prior to the national elections, advocate Jibran Nasir, an independent candidate and rights activist, filed a petition at the Supreme Court protesting the nation’s regular internet service outages.