IHC rules it can't give orders to provincial govt

CJ Athar Minallah says every citizen has equal right to use internet

ISLAMABAD:

The high court on Wednesday observed that it cannot give any orders to the provincial government.

This was observed as a single-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah, heard a petition filed for the provision of internet and third and fourth generation spectrum (3-G/4-G) services to the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata).

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel, Abdul Rahim, contended that internet services have been suspended in the tribal areas since 2016, while a petition for the resumption of services has been pending before the court for six months.

CJ Minallah noted that the tribal areas have now been merged with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and that the provincial government is responsible for it.

The court further observed that every citizen has the right to use the internet.

On security reasons touted to deny this right, the court said that such reason is strange, adding that security concerns do not mean that everything should be shut down.

There is a parliament and elected government, the court observed adding that it is not a political forum and it does not know why the government is not giving permission to restore internet services in the tribal areas.

If there is a security issue, then it is the provincial government's domain to resolve it. At this, the deputy attorney general pointed out that the address listed by the petitioner was of the federal capital and not the tribal areas and hence is availing their right.

However, the court interjected and said that all citizens of the country are equal and those living in villages also have the right to consume the internet in the villages.

The petitioner's counsel urged the court to direct the federal interior ministry to restore internet services in the tribal areas.

On the request of the deputy attorney general, the court directed the government to submit a reply and adjourned further proceedings for a week.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2020.