The Superior Court of Lahore (LHC) on Friday requested a report by the Ministry of Interior on the use of X, since it heard a petition against the prohibition of the social networks platform.
Access to X has been interrupted since February 17, 2024, when the former Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat, Chattha accused the Chief Commissioner of Elections and a Judge of the Supreme Court of high level of participating in the manipulation of the general elections of February 8.
The organizations of the rights agencies and the organizations of journalists have condemned the content of social networks, while Internet service providers have also lamented losses due to interruptions. The United States had also asked Pakistan to raise restrictions on social media platforms.
Friday’s hearing was approached by a bank of three members headed by the president of the Supreme Court Alia Nelam, who heard the requests of the journalist Shakir Mahmood and others.
The Federal Government, the Ministry of Law, the Ministry of Information and others had been made in requests.
At the beginning of the hearing, the Court requested a report from the Ministry of Interior on the operation of X.
The Court also sought to know how the Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA) worked. In addition, the LHC summoned the relevant PTA officer together with the registration.
“It should be revealed what government institutions are using X despite the prohibition,” Judge Neelum said. “It should also be said if the state of X is legal or illegal.”
She said all parties are obliged to present an answer in court.
The attached attorney general Asad Bajwa told the court that the PTA had prohibited X on the instructions of the Ministry of Interior.
To this, Judge Neelum said the Ministry of Interior should inform the Court about the current state of X.
“If X is still being used despite a total blockade, who is responsible for this?” Judge Ali Zia Bajwa asked.
The president of the Supreme Court reinforced the declaration, saying: “A report on why X is used despite the prohibition must be given.”
The PTA lawyer, the lawyer Muhammad Afzal Khan, informed the court that X was accessed by using VPN (virtual private networks).
Then, the judges directed the case of being sent to a single bank for the hearing.
The lawyer Azhar Siddique, the petitioner’s lawyer, said that the individual bank’s decision could be questioned before a double bank.
The court then postponed the hearing until March 20.
