The United States on Wednesday called on Pakistan to lift restrictions on X, formerly known as Twitter, after days of post-election disruptions marred by allegations of fraud. “We are concerned about any report of restrictions on the exercise of freedom of expression and association in Pakistan, including partial or total government-ordered shutdowns of the Internet,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“We continue to call on Pakistan to respect freedom of expression and restore access to all social media that have been restricted, including Twitter, now known as X,” he said. “We have and will continue to emphasize the importance of respecting these fundamental freedoms during our discussions with Pakistani officials.” X fell in Pakistan on Saturday night after a senior government official publicly admitted vote rigging in the February 8 election.
The two main dynastic parties, the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), announced late on Tuesday a coalition with smaller parties to govern the world’s fifth most populous country. Candidates loyal to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan were excluded from the government. His supporters won the most seats, despite being forced to run as independents, and say they would have enjoyed a landslide victory without the machinations.
