Azma Bokhari, the information minister for Punjab, has proposed social media apps should be blocked if they cannot be regulated, according to a report by Dawn.com.
The minister made the statement on Monday in Lahore. “Social media platforms are making money in Pakistan, but are not accountable to anyone,” she said while speaking to the press. “If social media apps cannot be regulated, they should better be shut down.”
Bokhari, who became the target of a doctored video in July, remarked that social media is being regulated all around the world except in Pakistan.
The minister’s remarks come as the suspension of X (previously Twitter) surpasses nine months in the country. X was blocked on February 17, a week after the general elections were held. The newly elected government confirmed that X had been suspended by the caretaker setup.
The ban continued, however, without any sound justification from the authorities. After months of silence and contradictory statements — including Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar saying that X was “working” — claims surfaced that X had been blocked due to threats to “national security”.
The disclosure arrived in court cases, involving the Ministry of Interior and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA,) filed against the suspension of X and internet shutdowns in the lead-up to the elections.
Last month, one of the two lawyers representing the PTA claimed in the Sindh High Court (SHC) that the interior ministry’s notification to ban X had been withdrawn, while the other remarked he was not aware of any such development. The regulator later admitted the statement regarding the notification’s withdrawal was a “mistake”.
