The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has withdrawn its notification regarding the suspension of X (formerly Twitter).
PTA’s lawyer, Ahsan Imam, confirmed the retraction of the ban notice during a Sindh High Court hearing over petitions requesting immediate restoration of the site.
During the court proceedings, the judge inquired whether the withdrawal of the notification meant that Twitter was reinstated.
Despite this, Advocate Moez Jaffri, representing the petitioners, noted that access to 'X had not yet been restored.
The court observed that the absence of a ban notification implied that X should now be operational.
The PTA’s lawyer expressed a lack of information regarding the notification’s withdrawal and faced criticism for having separate representatives for different petitions.
The court was informed that, despite a response from the federal government stating ‘X’ was operational as of March 28, the platform remained inaccessible.
The Deputy Attorney General cited intelligence concerns for the initial suspension, prompting the court to request detailed reasons for the ban.
The court also acknowledged a contempt petition related to the ongoing ban and decided to adjourn the case for two weeks to receive the government’s official stance.
Earlier in July, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) argued in the Sindh High Court that banning social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was the only recourse against violations of Pakistani laws.
Access to the social media giant has been blocked since Feb 17 following the allegations of rigging during the Feb 8 general elections.
Ban was imposed after an elections officer in Rawalpindi, Liaqat Ali Chattha, publicly claimed to have allegedly changed election results in his area on social media.
In its response to the court, the MoI claimed that the ban on X does not violate Article 19 of the Constitution.
It stressed that the platform has been used to upload hate speech against national institutions, prompting concerns about national security and dignity, and reports from sensitive agencies.
Read the full story at the express tribune website.
