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Pakistan’s internet went dark while millions of citizens headed to the polls.
At last, the government decided to cut mobile networks and other internet data as the voting kicked off.
Pakistan restricts internet access on February 8, 2024, as millions of citizens head to the polls to vote in an election marred by dissent, including allegations of poll rigging, the country’s most popular politician in jail and a military-favored candidate tipped to win.
Fixed internet blackoutswere recorded, too, across multiple regions.
However, youmustbe connected to the web to do so.
All this meant that there were barely any ways to stay connected during these crucial times.
“VPNs are becoming an increasingly necessary tool for Pakistani people to exercise their fundamental human rights to freedom of information and communication,” said Samuele Kaplun, VPN Lead at Proton VPN.
Citizens were also prevented from communicating with each other and planning their transport to the polls effectively.
However, “this is not widely available to ordinary citizens,” he added.
The most recent of such events occurred exactly amonth away from elections, in fact.
VPN providerProton VPNconfirmed TechRadar a steady increase in users within the country in recent months, in fact.
This led to a 400% increase in sign-ups to Proton VPN in early January 2023.
They are now calling authorities to immediately reconnect Pakistans internet.
