Pakistan Ranks 3rd in the World for Most Internet Shutdowns in 2023 after India and Iran

According to a recent report from Surfshark, a VPN and cyber security provider, Pakistan had some of the strictest internet restrictions in the first half of 2023.

Out of 42 new internet restrictions worldwide, three of them were imposed in Pakistan during a six-month analysis. The Internet Shutdown Tracker documented these restrictions, which were put in place after the arrest of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister, Imran Khan, on May 9.

During this period, the use of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube was curtailed in Pakistan. There were also multiple instances of temporary cellular network interruptions throughout the country for several days following the arrest.

According to the Surfshark report, Pakistan comes third after Iran and India in terms of countries with the most internet restrictions enforced in the first half of 2023. Asia remains the central region where most of these internet shutdowns have occurred.

Iran experienced the highest number of internet disruptions during this period, with 14 incidents. All of these took place in Zahedan amid Friday protests sparked by the Zahedan massacre.