The Amnesty International (AI) has called the suspension of mobile and internet services throughout the day “a blunt attack on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”. Several voters across the country faced difficulties throughout the electoral process, which began at 8am and concluded at 5pm. “It is reckless to impede access to information as people head out to polling stations on the heels of devastating bomb blasts and what has been an intense crackdown on the opposition in the lead up to the elections in the country,” Amnesty International’s South Asia office said in a statement.
“Unwarranted restrictions on dissemination of information, despite reassurances to the contrary from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and Election Commission of Pakistan, are in breach of people’s human rights at this critical time in Pakistan.”
