Must have ‘genuine’ reason to suspend X: IHC CJ

Court summons authorised officer from interior ministry on April 3

 

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Tuesday remarked that X was a social media platform for expressing opinions and there should be a genuine reason for suspending it under specific laws.

However, he added that the situation was different when it came to national security.

The IHC CJ was hearing a petition filed in the high court by a citizen through legal representatives, seeking its intervention to lift the ban on X and fully reinstate its services.

The petitioner argued that the continuous suspension of X since February 17 violated Article 19 of the Constitution.

The petition identified the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the information ministry as respondents.

A written reply was submitted to the court by the PTA.

The lawyer representing the PTA produced a letter in a sealed envelope saying that it was only for the perusal of the court.

Read X factor: Twitter ban hits businesses, news in Pakistan

After reading the letter, the IHC CJ noted that there was nothing substantial in it.

He added that the letter should be shared with the petitioner’s lawyer as well.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Sardar Masroof, told the court that this letter was already available on social media platforms.

The PTA’s lawyer said they had suspended X because of this letter and they were bound to follow it.
He added that the reply had to be given by the interior ministry.

The IHC CJ noted that the petition represented many people who used X.

He continued that what is written on X might not be liked by certain people. Justice Farooq pointed out that a great deal was also written about the judiciary on the social media platform too.

“Things have changed in the last 20 or 30 years.”

The IHC summoned an authorised officer from the interior ministry on April 3.

Access to the social media giant has been blocked since February 17 as allegations of rigging during last month’s general elections continue to make news.

UK-based Alp Toker, the director of NetBlocks, said the X disruption in Pakistan could have millions of dollars in economic impact in the region.

"The disruption to X in Pakistan could have an economic impact in the region of $50 million, based on our COST outage disruption impact estimator. This takes into account lost productivity and lost business and investment opportunities," Toker said in a statement sent to Anadolu Agency.