The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had a hearing about closing the famous social media site X, previously known as Twitter, in the country.
They sent notices to the Ministry of Information and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Tuesday.
Since February 17, the site has been restricted in Pakistan, but people have been using VPNs to access it.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC asked if X was closed. The petitioner’s lawyer confirmed that X had been closed in Pakistan since February 17. Justice Farooq inquired about a similar matter in the Sindh High Court (SHC), and the lawyer mentioned that the SHC would hear a petition related to contempt of court.
Justice Farooq then issued notices for the next week.
Last month, a similar petition was filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC), where authorities were directed to restore access to social media platform X across the country. The SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi issued these orders based on a plea filed by several petitioners against intermittent disruptions in accessing the platform.
Before the general elections on February 8, users faced difficulties accessing social media sites, which authorities attributed to an error. However, on the polling day, the internet was shut down to prevent terrorism. After the elections, there were continued disruptions in accessing X.
Information Minister Murtaza Solangi clarified that the caretaker government was not involved in shutting down X in Pakistan. He mentioned that the caretaker cabinet did not discuss or decide on closing the microblogging website. Solangi suggested reaching out to the PTA’s chairman for more information.