KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan used artificial intelligence (AI) to address his supporters across the country and abroad in the first event of its kind in the politics of the South Asian nation, his party’s spokesman said.

Khan Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party used an AI-generated audio clip, which was played over a photograph of Khan during an internet rally on Sunday evening, although marred by the internet disruptions.

“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."

Shoaib Shaheen, one of Khan's lawyers and PTI spokesman, told Anadolu that Khan's speech was the work of artificial intelligence.

The virtual event drew more than 1.4 million views streamed on YouTube and attended live by tens of thousands on other social media.

Social media platforms faced disruption across the country ahead of the virtual rally, an internet tracking group and social media users said.

Users complained they faced difficulty accessing social media platforms in many cities, including the capital Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar hours before the start of the virtual event. Many also complained about internet services being slow.

“Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across Pakistan, including X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube,” internet monitor Netblocks reported.

“Confirmed: Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across #Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube; the incident comes just ahead of a major virtual gathering organized by persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan's party, PTI," the tracking group further said in a post on X.

The PTI accused the country’s state-run telecommunication regulatory authority of a “deliberate” disruption to disturb the party’s power show.

“This is proof of the fear of the unprecedented popularity of Imran Khan’s PTI! In what was an expected move, the illegitimate, fascist regime has slowed down internet speed & disruption of social media platforms all across Pakistan, prior to PTI’s historic Virtual Jalsa (public meeting),” the PTI said in a statement posted on X.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority did not respond to a request for comment.

The PTI accused the government of carrying out a nationwide crackdown against its workers since May last, following violent protests across the country after the arrest of Khan in a corruption case in Islamabad.

Khan himself is languishing in a jail near Islamabad, aside from facing a string of cases.

His government was ousted through a no-trust move in April 2021.