Pakistan’s X (Twitter) Ban Raises Concerns Over Freedom of Expression
February 22, 2024 – Following an ongoing restriction on the operations of social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, in Pakistan since Sunday, the issue reached the Sindh High Court. The disruption of this microblogging platform has affected millions of users in the country.
Concerns about the disruption were brought before the Sindh High Court, prompting Chief Justice Aqeel Abbasi to direct federal authorities, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), to restore the services of social media platforms.
Under the leadership of Chief Justice Abbasi, the SHC bench has requested a report from the PTA regarding the suspension of internet services on election day and has issued a notice to the federal government regarding the current situation.
Pakistan’s interim interior minister has stated to an international media organization that he is unaware of any restrictions on social media platforms. He indicated a lack of knowledge about the outage, noting that the matter does not fall under his ministry’s jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, the caretaker information minister has not responded to inquiries regarding the Twitter ban.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has not provided any clarification regarding the situation. While the PTA is responsible for enforcing government orders, it has not addressed multiple inquiries about the closure of X (Twitter).
Earlier reports from NetBlocks indicated a nationwide disruption to X/Twitter in Pakistan, coinciding with escalating unrest and protests over allegations of election fraud. These protests followed a high-level resignation and public admission of vote manipulation by a senior election official.
Despite the court’s directives, X (Twitter) has once again been taken offline in Pakistan after being briefly restored. The caretaker government of Pakistan is accused of violating fundamental human rights amid reports of officials allegedly facilitating election rigging and fraud.
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