Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, whose party is prohibited from holding public rallies, spoke at a virtual rally late on Sunday using an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated audio clip. This was the nation's first virtual gathering of its sort.
Over an AI-generated image that seems to be speaking, the internet-disturbed audio clip from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was played during an online rally. On YouTube, it had over 1.4 million views, and tens of thousands of people watched it live on other social media sites.
"Our party is not allowed to hold public rallies," Khan said in the clip, urging supporters to turn out in large numbers at general elections set for Feb 8. "Our people are being kidnapped and their families are being harassed."
Concerns about transparency around the impending elections were heightened by the livestreaming outages, as users all throughout the country complained about sluggish internet speeds and throttling—a tactic used by telecom officials to stifle app broadcasting.
Although the disruptions were being looked into, Pakistan's telecoms regulator stated that overall internet accessibility seemed okay.
According to representatives of Khan's party, which organised the event since it is under a state-backed crackdown on in-person rallies and its leader is barred from the media, the address was derived from a written version that Khan had approved while incarcerated.
Khan has been detained since his conviction and three-year sentence on August 5 for graft. He is involved in numerous court matters, some of which are being held behind closed doors in prison, which legal experts claim violates his right to a fair trial.
The question regarding internet disruptions could be directed to the ministry of information technology or the telecom regulator, according to Murtaza Solangi, the information minister in Pakistan's caretaker government tasked with overseeing the elections, which is suspected of favouring Khan's opponents. She stated, "I have no information about it."
He did not, however, address the question of whether the pre-poll manipulation in this case constituted a violation of the right to free expression and assembly as required by election regulations in order to ensure a free and fair voting process.
Since the 71-year-old former cricket hero was removed from office as prime minister by a vote of confidence in parliament last year, a political storm has surrounded him. The party crackdown came after supporters stormed military installations in May to protest his brief detention.
Khan prevailed in the most recent general election in 2018, a win his opponents claim was aided by the military, which frequently has a disproportionate influence in forming or overturning governments in Pakistan.
He also attributes his dismissal to the military, citing a disagreement with generals on the appointment of the head of Pakistan's principal spy agency. This is refuted by the military.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
Over an AI-generated image that seems to be speaking, the internet-disturbed audio clip from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party was played during an online rally. On YouTube, it had over 1.4 million views, and tens of thousands of people watched it live on other social media sites.
"Our party is not allowed to hold public rallies," Khan said in the clip, urging supporters to turn out in large numbers at general elections set for Feb 8. "Our people are being kidnapped and their families are being harassed."
Concerns about transparency around the impending elections were heightened by the livestreaming outages, as users all throughout the country complained about sluggish internet speeds and throttling—a tactic used by telecom officials to stifle app broadcasting.
Although the disruptions were being looked into, Pakistan's telecoms regulator stated that overall internet accessibility seemed okay.
According to representatives of Khan's party, which organised the event since it is under a state-backed crackdown on in-person rallies and its leader is barred from the media, the address was derived from a written version that Khan had approved while incarcerated.
Khan has been detained since his conviction and three-year sentence on August 5 for graft. He is involved in numerous court matters, some of which are being held behind closed doors in prison, which legal experts claim violates his right to a fair trial.
The question regarding internet disruptions could be directed to the ministry of information technology or the telecom regulator, according to Murtaza Solangi, the information minister in Pakistan's caretaker government tasked with overseeing the elections, which is suspected of favouring Khan's opponents. She stated, "I have no information about it."
He did not, however, address the question of whether the pre-poll manipulation in this case constituted a violation of the right to free expression and assembly as required by election regulations in order to ensure a free and fair voting process.
Since the 71-year-old former cricket hero was removed from office as prime minister by a vote of confidence in parliament last year, a political storm has surrounded him. The party crackdown came after supporters stormed military installations in May to protest his brief detention.
Khan prevailed in the most recent general election in 2018, a win his opponents claim was aided by the military, which frequently has a disproportionate influence in forming or overturning governments in Pakistan.
He also attributes his dismissal to the military, citing a disagreement with generals on the appointment of the head of Pakistan's principal spy agency. This is refuted by the military.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
