The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to restore access to social media sites in Pakistan, including X (previously known as Twitter). X has been unreachable in the country for the previous four days.
The ruling was issued by the Supreme Court bench, chaired by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, in response to a petition contesting the recent “unconstitutional” internet interruptions across the country.
During the session presided over by Justice Abbasi, talks centred on a variety of significant concerns, including the imposition of internet service restrictions on Election Day.
During the hearing of a lawsuit submitted by rights activist Advocate Jibran Nasir against the suspension of internet and social media services, the chief judge asked the counsel for the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), “When will you restore the internet?”
In response, the PTA lawyer informed the court that the authority had taken action in accordance with directions from the Ministries of Information and Internal Affairs.
The PTA counsel defended the internet service restriction by noting concerns about the country’s overall law and order condition.
Furthermore, the court has demanded a report from the PTA on the interruption of internet service on election day. Furthermore, notices were sent to the federal government, and the hearing has been postponed until March 5th.
As previously stated, access to X has been obstructed in Pakistan for several days since Commissioner Rawalpindi admitted to aiding rig the general elections.
He admitted that he “personally supervised” the manipulation of over 70,000 votes, which transformed victors into losers overnight. He also stated that he will turn himself in to the police.
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