“The internet shutdown in Sistan and Baluchestan has made life difficult on both sides of the border”

Zahedan representative says internet in Sistan and Baluchestan is down for security reasons. Protests continue in the region over the arrest of Sunni cleric Fazl-ur-Rahman Kohi. DW correspondent in Pakistan reports ongoing power outages in Iran.

Internet has been out of service in Sistan and Baluchestan province for 17 days. Referring to the nationwide internet outage following the intensification of protests over the increase in gasoline prices, Hossein Ali Shahriari, a member of the Zahedan parliament, said that the reason for the internet outage in Sistan and Baluchestan province has nothing to do with the “riots.”

Without giving details, he cited the activities of “foreign security services” as the reason for the continued internet shutdown. Fixed and mobile internet in Iran was cut off 24 hours after the increase in gasoline prices and the start of public protests. Internet connectivity gradually resumed in various parts of Iran after five days.

But Sistan and Baluchestan province is still deprived of internet access. Hossein Ali Shahriari claims that authorities have promised him that the internet in the north of the province, including the city of Zahedan, will be connected soon.

Nasser Bleidei, Secretary General of the Balochistan People's Party of Iran, emphasized in an interview with Deutsche Welle that security forces have a strong presence in Sistan and Balochistan province. Referring to the arrest of Mawlawi Fazl-ur-Rahman Kohi, a Sunni cleric and Friday prayer leader in the Peshamg-e-Sarbaaz region, he said that protests against his arrest are ongoing.

Nasser Blidayi says: "During the protests against the increase in gasoline prices, Mr. Kouhi supported the people and condemned the suppression of peaceful protests, but he was summoned to court and arrested."

Mawlavi Fazl-ur-Rahman Kouhi was summoned to the Special Clergy Court in Mashhad, but he did not return from the court and was arrested. Nasser Blidayi says: "The youth of the region have been protesting for a long time. Sistan and Baluchestan also witnessed popular protests after the increase in gasoline prices, but as far as I know, the intensity of the protests was not like in cities like Ahvaz, and fortunately, no one was killed."

The Secretary General of the Balochistan People's Party of Iran, who lives abroad, says that eyewitnesses in Sistan and Balochistan have told him that the presence of security forces is noticeable in many cities.

Pointing to the continued internet outage, she emphasizes that start-up businesses in the region, many of which are run by women, have been paralyzed.

While speculation continues about the reason for the continued internet shutdown in Iran, a DW correspondent in Balochistan, Pakistan, says the internet shutdown has affected the lives of people on both sides of the border, especially their bilateral trade.

He says that before the protests in Iran, a meeting between business representatives from both sides of the border was held in Zahedan, with the agenda of improving bilateral economic relations. But now, business activists from Balochistan, Pakistan, say that they cannot continue to cooperate under the current circumstances and risk their business.

Trade relations across the border have been strained since the beginning of the year, after the city of Quetta in Sistan and Baluchestan province froze all bank accounts belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran's consulate. A DW correspondent says that Iran's electricity exports to Pakistan, especially to the Baluchistan region, are also being cut off.

Residents of Balochistan, Pakistan, have said that since the protests in Iran, their electricity has been cut off for long hours and they also have no internet.

Iran and Pakistan signed an agreement in 2002 on the export of electricity in megawatts. In May of this year, during the visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister to Iran, the Iranian government announced that it was seeking to increase economic and trade relations with Pakistan. On December 2, Ali Bakhshi, head of the Iranian Electricity Industry Syndicate, announced the entry of the private sector to increase electricity exports from eastern Iran to Afghanistan and Pakistan. But now the people of Balochistan, Pakistan, are complaining about constant power outages.

Source: DW