Pakistan's Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the government to revoke the ban on micro blogging site X, owned by Elon Musk, within one week, Geo News reported.
The Sindh High Court's remarks came as X, which is used by millions of Pakistanis, has been suspended since February owing to the government's decision to curb access to the social media platform citing national security threats.
The interior Ministry of Pakistan had informed the court that they had to ban X, formerly known as twitter, because the microblogging platform failed ‘to adhere to the lawful directives of the government’. The Pakistan government cited threat to national security in banning X.
Pakistan's communications authority admitted in court papers that it was ordered by the Interior Ministry to shut down the site. "The Sindh High Court has given the government one week to withdraw the letter, failing which, on the next date, they will pass appropriate orders," Moiz Jaaferi, a lawyer challenging the ban, told AFP.
According to Reuters, users have reported problems using X in Pakistan since mid-February, but the government made no formal announcements.
The platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been rarely accessible since February 17, when jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party called for protests against a government official's admission of vote manipulation in February's election.
“It is very pertinent to mention here that the failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban,” the report seen by Reuters read.
Last month, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) told the court that it blocked the social media platform after receiving directions from the Ministry of Interior and intelligence agencies."
(With agency inputs)
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