PTA Lawyers Offer Conflicting Views on X (Twitter) Ban in Court

In a recent Sindh High Court hearing, two lawyers representing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) presented differing opinions on whether the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is still banned.

Chief Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Omar Sial were reviewing petitions challenging both the suspension of mobile and internet services and the ban on X, which has been in place since February.

One PTA lawyer, Ahsan Imam Rizvi, informed the court that the ban on X had been lifted, suggesting access should be restored. However, the petitioners’ lawyer, Abdul Moiz Jaferii, argued that users still couldn’t access the platform. Saad Siddiqui, another lawyer for PTA, said he had no information about the ban being lifted.

The court expressed surprise at the confusion among PTA’s legal team and gave them two weeks to clarify the situation.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, the IT minister revealed that X was blocked on the interior ministry’s orders, and PTA’s web management system was used to enforce the ban under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. The platform was blocked after X’s management did not comply with Pakistan’s request to remove certain content deemed objectionable.

The case remains under review.