The publications of the users on the social media platforms X and Facebook said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court had declared the prohibition of an Islamabad court of 27 unconstitutional YouTube channels. However, such development has not occurred.
On Tuesday it arose that an Islamabad court ordered YouTube last month to block 27 channels to disseminate “false, misleading and defamatory content against the Government and the Armed Forces.
Among the 27 sanctioned stories, led by journalists, political commentators and influencers of social networks in Pakistan and abroad, are those of PTI, Matiuallah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani and Asad Ali Toor, Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, know Shakir and Moeed Pirzada.
On Wednesday, former presenter Sabir Shakir said in an X: “The Supreme Court declares the prohibition of 27 unconstitutional YouTube channels.”
The publication was seen by more than 39,000 people.
The same statement was shared by several other X users that can be seen here, here, here and here.
The statement also circulated on Facebook, as you can see here, here, here and here.
A verification of facts began to determine the veracity of the claim due to a great public interest in the matter related to the prohibition of 27 YouTube channels.
Observing the press declaration at the position of Shakir showed that it was from the lawyers of the Supreme Court (SCBA) of Pakistan, not of the Supreme Court itself.
Additional investigation through a keyword search led to a position in X dated July 9 by the journalist Hasnaat Malik, a senior reporter who covers the issues of the Supreme Court. He shared the press release, with the title: “The president of the Bar Association of the Supreme Court, Mian Rauf Atta, has said that the order of the judicial magistrate with respect to the closure of 27 YouTube channels is a violation of several constitutional provisions.”
Toor also shared the same SCBA statement in X.
The SCBA is an independent agency established in 1989, which includes lawyers who practice before the Supreme Court. Formed under the Law of Legal and Lawyers, 1973, and operating under the Council of the Pakistan Bar Association, the SCBA works to defend the rule of law and protect the interests of the legal and public profession. It is important to keep in mind that SCBA is not part of the Supreme Court and works independently.
A keyword search to corroborate the alleged development did not show news reports that confirmed that the Supreme Court declared that the prohibition is not constitutional or took any measure in the matter.
The same was confirmed by Sunrise The Uumer Mehtab correspondent, who covers the reports of the Supreme Court, which the Apex court was not involved in the matter.
He also said that any appeal against the order of the Islamabad court would first have to be prosecuted in the Superior Court. Any appeal against the order of a lower court cannot overlook the Superior Court to go directly to the Supreme Court.
Therefore, the verification of facts determined that the statement that the Supreme Court has declared the prohibition of 27 unconstitutional YouTube channels is FAKE. There has been no such development and so far only the SCBA, an independent agency of the Supreme Court, has criticized the blockade order.
This fact verification was originally published by Iverify Pakistan, a CEJ-IBA and UNDP project.
