Saad Rafique calls for lifting X ban

Senior PML-N leader and former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has demanded the removal of the ban on X (formerly Twitter), which has been in place for a year.

In a statement on the platform on Saturday, Rafique said that despite the ban, users continue to access the platform via VPNs, rendering the restriction ineffective.

"The ban on X has served no purpose over the past year. Everyone is still using it through VPNs, so it should now be lifted," he said.

It is noteworthy that the platform was blocked in Pakistan shortly after last year's general elections. However, users have continued to bypass restrictions using VPN services.

According to reports, X has approximately 4.5 million users in the country, many of whom remain active despite the official ban.

Meanwhile, the government has indicated no signs of reversing its decision with reports saying that the officials have hinted that the platform's return was not on the cards anytime soon.

Ironically, while the public remains locked out, government departments continue to use X for official announcements, likely through VPNs.

The platform, with around 4.5 million users in Pakistan, was blocked in February 2024, shortly after the general elections, during the caretaker government's tenure.

The final nail in the coffin was a press conference by former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha, who accused Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and a former chief justice of engineering election fraud.

One year on, the ban remains firmly in place, with no indication of a policy shift as users continue to complain about the lack of access to the popular social media platform.