PTA's change of stance displeases SHC

Statement about lifting of X ban 'unintentional mistake', court told

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday expressed its displeasure with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for changing its stance on the blocking of the microblogging website X, formerly Twitter.

During a hearing by SHC Chief Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, the court took exception to the reversal of the PTA lawyer's statement regarding the interior ministry's notification about the ban.

The court questioned whether the PTA's action constituted professional misconduct or misrepresentation. "Who gave you these instructions? Name the person," the chief justice asked.

Despite the deputy attorney general's defence that it was an unintentional mistake due to caseload pressure, the court remained firm in its stance. It indicated the possibility of contempt proceedings and suggested that PTA's chairman could be summoned for clarification.

The PTA lawyer was also questioned about providing information without being asked, with the court noting that the other PTA lawyer had earlier stated that no such instructions had been issued.

The case was postponed until September 24, with the court clubbing the PTA's petition with other related cases and neither retracting nor amending its prior orders.

On Saturday, the PTA had requested the SHC to set aside or modify its September 12 order, which was issued during a hearing on a petition filed against the suspension of X in Pakistan.

According to the court's written order, one of PTA's counsels had repeatedly stated during a recent hearing that the interior ministry had withdrawn its February 17 notification regarding the blocking of X in Pakistan.

The court noted that when the PTA's counsel, Ahsan Imam, had informed the bench of the withdrawal, the federal government's lawyer had not opposed the statement and that Imam had reiterated his stance multiple times.

In other petitions, PTA lawyer Saad Siddiqui had mentioned that he was unaware of this development. The court expressed surprise, noting that different instructions seem to have been provided for the same issue.

"In such a situation, and since the letter containing instructions to the PTA has been withdrawn, and there is no other impediment to the restoration of X (formerly Twitter), as not disclosed, the platform stands restored," the court order stated.

However, on Saturday, some PTA officials had filed affidavits in the court requesting it to "set aside/recall/modify/vary" its September 12 order. They claimed the court's order had been issued based on a mistaken statement by the PTA's counsel.

"It subsequently transpired that, due to some misunderstanding and confusion, these instructions were given, leading to the passing of the impugned order," the affidavits explained.

The PTA clarified that the statement about the withdrawal of the ministry's notification in the X suspension case was incorrect. "Therefore … the court kindly set aside/vary/modify/recall the impugned order [dated September 12]," it said.