Pakistanis still unable to access microblogging site "X" after 36 hours

Pakistani users remain frustrated as they continue to be barred from accessing the popular microblogging site "X" for over 36 hours, which was reportedly down amidst reports of 'election fraud'.

On Saturday, Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Liaquat Ali Chattha had resigned from his post in protest against electoral irregularities, saying rigging took place under his supervision. 

"We were forced to convert losers into winners with 70,000-80,000 votes margin by stamping fake ballot papers. I've done injustice to the people of Rawalpindi," he said while talking to media at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Following the startling revelations, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose backed candidate emerged victorious with 92 national Assembly seats in the February 8 polls, claimed that the Commissioner's allegations have endorsed their stance over elections.

PTI has been claiming that its 60-70 NA seats were stolen and that it has won the elections with a two-thirds majority.

A day earlier, PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan termed the rigging against his party “the mother of all rigging”, adding that PTI “rejects this in the strongest possible terms”.

The entire development came following the revelations of the Rawalpindi Commissioner, which were strongly rejected by the Elections Commission of Pakistan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

On the other hand, netizens took to the microblogging site to express their disapproval, demanding a fair investigation into the allegations.

NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog, also confirmed that X has been restricted in Pakistan for 24 hours amid reports of “election fraud”.

“Metrics show that X/Twitter has now been restricted in Pakistan for 24 hours, the latest and longest in a series of nation-scale internet censorship measures imposed by authorities as reports of election fraud emerge,” it said in a post on X.

However, no official statement regarding the disruption has been issued by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) till the filing of this news.