Pakistan Ban ‘X’: The High Court has strongly reprimanded the Shahbaz Sharif government in Pakistan for blocking the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) owned by American billionaire Elon Musk. Services of X were suspended by Pakistan citing national security threats
Pakistan Ban Twitter/X: The High Court in Pakistan has strongly reprimanded the Shehbaz Sharif government for blocking the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) owned by American billionaire Elon Musk. Let us tell you that the services of micro blogging site X were suspended in February citing national security threats. Expressing displeasure over the continued suspension of X’s services, the Sindh High Court on Wednesday directed the Home Ministry to cancel its decision regarding the suspension within a week.
According to ‘Geo News’ news, High Court Chief Justice Akil Ahmed Abbasi, while hearing several petitions regarding suspension of X’s services, said, “What are you (Home Ministry) achieving by doing this? The world will laugh at us.” ” Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed the long-suspected shutdown of X, saying it had ordered its blocking in February based on national security concerns.
A senior government official publicly admitted to vote manipulation in the February 8 elections, sparking outrage and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) calling for protests. According to the news, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had told the court last month that it had banned the social media platform after receiving instructions from the Home Ministry and intelligence agencies.
Court expressed displeasure
Following the regulatory body’s statement, the Interior Ministry had informed the Islamabad High Court in a separate case that content uploaded on the internet is a threat to the country’s national security, The News International reported. Expressing unhappiness over the suspension of services, the petitioner’s counsel said that using X and other social media platforms does not lead to explosions.
The Chief Justice said, “It seems that there is no justification for suspending the services of X.” He said that if the Home Ministry does not withdraw the directions issued on February 17, the court will pass its order. Thereafter, the court adjourned the hearing till May 9 and directed the Home Ministry to explain the reason for suspension of X’s services on the said date.