Texas Representative Greg Casar (D) took to social media to bring awareness to the social media outages for several people in Pakistan after their recent parliamentary elections.
“Pakistanis use Twitter to expose post-election interference. But now, Pakistani authorities are blocking Twitter access for the third straight day. @StateDept should demand authorities restore access to Twitter. Our allies should meet basic standards of free speech & democracy.”
Pakistanis use Twitter to expose post-election interference. But now, Pakistani authorities are blocking Twitter access for the third straight day.@StateDept should demand authorities restore access to Twitter. Our allies should meet basic standards of free speech & democracy. https://t.co/dMuCFIofaC
— Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) February 20, 2024
Casar’s comments are in line with the U.S. government’s which stated that the recent elections took place under several restrictions including freedom of expression, association and peace.
Pakistan has denied interference in the parliamentary election and stated that their elections have been held “peacefully and successfully” in the past.
The Pakistani government chalked up the social media blockage to an attempt to “avoid terrorist incidents on polling day.” However, social media outages lasted well past the election date.
The Pakistani election was a mess, as no political party held a clear voting advantage over the other. Furthermore, independent candidates backed by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan did eventually take the lead in the vote count.
International elections have been tumultuous, recently. Moreover, elections in the U.S. have caused an uproar due to conspiracies which have led to riots from radicals.
Those who participated in facilitating the Jan. 6 attack believed that the 2020 presidential election that Joe Biden won was stolen from Donald Trump. Furthermore, they have faced many legal challenges, with many ending up in jail. However, some strangely deny the events and claim that they were not violent.
“The fact that so many in our country support the violent insurrectionists or downplay the actions that took place that day is deeply troubling and goes against everything our nation stands for,” said Texas Representative Veronica Escobar (D).
Trump is currently facing a trial for his role in sparking the insurrection. The former president has denied all claims and has argued that he is innocent.
“Our nation’s democratic values are being tested every day by dangerous extremists promoting authoritarianism and political violence. These anti-American forces have gained full control of today’s Republican Party and they won’t stop until they’ve destroyed all we hold dear,” stated Rep. Escobar.
