The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has admitted in the Sindh High Court (SHC) that the claim made earlier by its lawyer regarding the restoration of X in the country was a “mistake”, according to a report by Dawn.com.
Last week, reports emerged that the PTA had restored X (formerly known as Twitter) after seventh months of its arbitrary suspension. Some people claimed they were able to access the platform without using a VPN (virtual private network). However, a large number of users confirmed they could not access X the regular way, which indicated that the few instances that led to speculation regarding the platform’s restoration might have been a result of X’s prolonged intermittent blocking.
Since the ban imposed on the platform on February 17, 2024, X is occasionally found restored, but turns inaccessible again shortly after.
The reports only convoluted after the lawyers representing PTA gave contradictory statements in the SHC later, where various petitions are being heard against the continuing ban on X and frequent internet shutdowns in the country.
One of the PTA lawyers claimed the interior ministry’s notification to ban X had been “withdrawn”, while the other said he had no idea about any such development. Moreover, it could not be established if the claimed withdrawal of the notification meant X would be restored completely. Subsequently, one of the petitions against X’s suspension was dismissed based on the claims that the notification had been “withdrawn”.
However, in a more bizarre turn of events on Tuesday, the PTA filed a new petition requesting modifications to the order in the disposed petition, admitting that the lawyer, who told the court about the suspension notice’s withdrawal, had been given wrong instructions by the telecom regulator. The PTA has ascribed the claims under discussion to “confusion” in the ongoing petitions.
The next hearing will take place on September 24, 2024.
X was banned in Pakistan on February 17, a week after the general elections were held. A barrage of questions calling for justification for the unannounced ban ensued by users, digital rights activists, and journalists. However, it was revealed only several weeks later that X had been blocked on the interior ministry’s orders, which cited unspecified threats to “national security”.
The ban has surpassed its eighth month this week.
