LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has demanded a comprehensive report from the interior ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) regarding the ban on social media platform ‘X’.
A full bench, led by Chief Justice Aalia Neelum, ordered that the report be submitted by March 20. The court has also called for the presence of a senior PTA official along with relevant records at the next hearing.
The court further asked for clarification on which government departments were still utilising the platform despite its ban, and requested details on the platform’s legal standing in Pakistan. One of the bench members raised concerns over who should be held accountable if users can still access ‘X’ despite it being officially blocked.
During the proceedings, PTA’s legal representative acknowledged that users were bypassing the ban by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
The petitioners challenging the ban argued that the government’s restrictions on social media, specifically targeting ‘X’, infringed upon citizens’ fundamental right to access information, as enshrined in Articles 19 and 19-A of the Constitution.
They requested the court to nullify all government notifications related to these restrictions and urged the lifting of the ban on ‘X’.
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