ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has restored access to multiple social media apps which it temporarily blocked on security grounds on Friday, the country's telecommunications authority said.
The suspension of social media services was a part of what is believed to be a crackdown against a religious political party, Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), that has held violent nationwide protests this week.
Pakistani internet users had difficulty accessing apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter from Friday morning.
"Access to social media applications have been restored," Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said in a statement late afternoon.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has since apologized for the suspension of social media services.
"I as interior minister apologize that we blocked social media for three hours," he said in a video statement. "They (TLP) were planning to come out on the streets after Friday prayer. We won't do this in future. They didn't come out, it was all peaceful. Today those who wanted to spread chaos, anarchy and terrorism in the country through social media have been defeated."
The internet blockade came as Pakistan said this week it would outlaw the TLP after the arrest of its leader, Saad Rizvi, on Monday sparked major nationwide protests. Rizvi and his supporters are calling on the government to expel the French ambassador over cartoons published in France depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
"We have banned them (TLP), will go for their dissolution, freeze their bank accounts, cancel their passports, block their identity cards and won't allow terrorism in the country at any cost," the minister said.
The country's Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has meanwhile said it had "initiated action against individuals who used social media to incite violence, spread hate and glorified the assaults on law enforcement personnel."
"A list of TLP related social media accounts have been identified and a complaint lodged with FIA’s (Federal Investigation Agency) cybercrime wing," CTD said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, PTA spokesperson Khurram Mehran told Arab News that the suspension of social media apps was "in order to maintain public order and safety."
Internet, cable TV and phone service provider Nayatel, based in Islamabad, sent text messages to users saying:
“On directions by PTA, below mentioned social media platforms have been blocked. Twitter. Facebook. WhatsApp. YouTube. TikTok. Telegram. Inconvenience is regretted.”
Usama Khilji, a director at digital advocacy group Bolo Bhi, said the suspension was “against the constitution to suspend people’s access to information by blocking social media just because of a group and in the name of law and order.”
“Also, this isn’t a wise security strategy to suspend Internet because this won’t send protesters home, instead it will project a bad image of our country abroad,” he told Arab News.
Nighat Dad of the Digital Rights Foundation said:
“What kind of national emergency we are dealing with that government banned entire social media temporarily? These arbitrary decisions of blocking and banning have never done any good instead opened ways to blanket bans.”