The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has taken a decisive step in the ongoing case regarding the shutdown of social media platform X in Pakistan since February. In a hearing on Wednesday, IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq summoned the interior secretary to appear before the court on April 17 and provide detailed reasons for the continued unavailability of the platform.
This development comes as the court heard a petition challenging the “ban” on X, which has been inaccessible in Pakistan since February 17. The shutdown occurred following former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha’s accusations against the chief election commissioner and chief justice of Pakistan of involvement in rigging the February 8 general elections.
Rights bodies, journalists’ organizations, and internet service providers have all expressed concern and condemnation over the suppression of social media. The United States also recently called on Pakistan to lift restrictions on social media platforms.
During the hearing, the Interior Ministry joint secretary presented a report on the social platform’s outage, citing reports by intelligence agencies as the basis for the shutdown. However, Chief Justice Aamer Farooq expressed dissatisfaction with the report, stating, “Assist the court, what is this? You have not brought any files or anything […] everything was done deliberately, everything has been shut.”
The chief justice questioned the lack of concrete evidence supporting the shutdown, demanding, “There must be some evidence of this, asking whether the interior ministry shut down the social media platform on the reports received by the Intelligence Bureau (IB).”
Expressing disappointment at the report, CJ Farooq remarked, “There are no reasons on this. This is based on speculation,” and directed to submit directives issued by other courts on the issue.
Following this, the court summoned the interior ministry secretary to the next hearing on April 17 and directed him to produce evidence on the alleged threat to national security posed by the social media platform.
The petition filed by Ehtisham Abbasi, a resident of Islamabad, named the information ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) as respondents. It urged the high court to issue directives to “immediately lift the ban on X (Twitter) access in the interest of justice.”
The petitioner argued that the government’s actions were in violation of fundamental rights, specifically highlighting freedom of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution. The plea emphasized that the “liberty of a person” was a “pivotal right” falling within the ambit of the right to life and dignity.
It further contended that the disruption of X “suffers from serious legal infirmities” and had infringed upon several constitutional and statutory rights.
As the case unfolds, all eyes are on the upcoming hearing on April 17, where the interior ministry secretary is expected to provide clarity on the shutdown of the social media platform and its implications on national security.
