IHC trial judge Aamer Farooq hears the petition against the closure of X, which has been restricted in Pakistan since February 17.
- IHC CJ hears petition against closure of X.
- X, formerly Twitter, closed since February 17.
- People using social networking site through VPN.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the Ministry of Information and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) regarding the closure of social media site X, formerly Twitter, in the country.
IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq heard the petition against the closure of X, which has remained largely restricted in Pakistan since February 17 with people accessing the popular site using a VPN.
During today's plea hearing, the IHC judge asked, “Is X closed?”
To this, the petitioner's counsel replied that X had been closed in Pakistan since February 17.
“This matter was also before the Sindh High Court (SHC), what happened?” Justice Farooq asked.
The lawyer responded that the SHC will hear a petition related to contempt of court today.
Following this, Justice Farooq said he would issue notices by next week.
A similar petition was also filed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) last month and the plea directed authorities to restore social media platform X and ensure uninterrupted access to the site across the country.
SHC Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi issued the orders following a plea filed by multiple petitioners, including Zarrar Khuhro, Amber Shamsi, Zebunnisa Burki and others, against the intermittent interruptions faced by users while accessing the renowned social media platform that has witnessed several sporadic suspensions “without prior notice” in recent weeks.
Ahead of the February 8 general elections, users were unable to access several social media sites, which authorities concerned attributed to an error. However, on election day the Internet was cut off to prevent terrorism, according to the interim government. Following the requested surveys, there were repeated interruptions in access to X.
Speaking to a local media channel last week, Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said the caretaker government had nothing to do with the closure of X in Pakistan.
He said the interim cabinet did not discuss anything or decide to close the microblogging site.
Solangi said it would be better to approach the PTA president on this matter.
