LHC moved against internet suspension following Imran's arrest

Petitioner requested court to declare the impugned blockage as arbitrary, illegal, unlawful and constitutional

LAHORE:

A writ petition was filed on Wednesday in the Lahore High Court (LHC) to restore internet services and social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the country which were disrupted after protests broke out following the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan yesterday.

The petition stated that the court is requested to declare the impugned blockage as arbitrary, illegal, unlawful, and constitutional which is tantamount to depriving the public of their basic right.

The petition was filed by petitioner Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi who made respondents the Federation of Pakistan through secretary ministry of information technology and telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication through its chairman, CM Pak Limited through its CEO, Pakistan Telecom Mobile Limited and others.

He contended in the petition that on May 9, the PTI chief was arrested but soon after his arrest, countrywide protest started as a result of which the internet service was blocked.

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He implored that it is a settled principle of law that information on matters of public importance is the foundational bedrock of representative democracy and the accountability of the chosen representatives.

The superior judiciary of Pakistan has upheld the principle of maximum disclosure by saying that “as a rule, information should be disclosed and only as an exceptional privilege should be claimed on justifiable grounds,” added the petition.

He contended that the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC), in the catena of judicial pronouncements has emphasized that making access to information is a right of the people and further stressed that all information which can be of any public importance must be made available to the general public.

“This right has been conferred on the people of Pakistan under Article 19-A of the Constitution. The same cannot be abridged, curtailed and eliminated or destroyed through imposition of blanket ban, prohibition orders. Thus, the impugned blockage of the internet service is liable to be set aside,” the petition stated.