On Tuesday, interim minister of information Murtaza Solangi denied rumours that there would be an internet outage in 2024 at the general elections, calling all of the rumours “speculations.”
At a press conference in Islamabad, the minister made these statements while responding to queries from reporters. Also present were Secretary of Information Shahera Shahid, Director General of Radio Pakistan Saeed Ahmed Sheikh, and Executive Director General of External Publicity Wing Ambreen Jan.
The minister added that journalists and observers from other countries will travel to Pakistan to report on and witness the general elections scheduled for February 8.
The information minister revealed the specifics of the applications being handled, stating that 32 visas are now being processed and 49 visas have already been granted to foreign journalists.
According to him, 24 applications have been received by Pakistan’s High Commission in India and are now being processed.
A total of 174 applications from different international media outlets have been received, according to the Ministry of Information.
He stated that a number of foreign media organisations, such as CNN, BBC, DW, and those from Japan, are already present in Pakistan and would be covering the elections for seats in the National and Provincial Assemblies.
According to Murtaza Solangi, the applications that the international observers filed are also being handled. According to him, 25 applications have come in from the UK, 8 from Russia, 13 from Japan, 5 from Canada, 2 from South Africa, and 5 from the Commonwealth.
He stated that letters of authorization for the observation and reporting of the election process in the three major cities of Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad are being sent to foreign media and observers.
He did, however, state that each foreign journalist’s request to visit a different city would be considered on an individual basis.
