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in News

Working with Pakistan govt to ‘understand concerns’, says X on prolonged ban

DRMby DRM
April 19, 2024
Working with Pakistan govt to ‘understand concerns’, says X on prolonged ban

Image:Online

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has stated that the company is in talks with the government of Pakistan regarding the platform’s prolonged suspension in the country.

X’s statement came late Wednesday, the first in two months of the platform’s blockage in Pakistan. “We continue to work with the Pakistani Government to understand their concerns,” X’s Global Government Affairs team said.

Screenshot: X

X was banned in Pakistan on February 17, 2024, a week after the general elections were held (February 8). It was blocked shortly after former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha made allegations of poll rigging involving the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of Pakistan.

X has since been inaccessible in Pakistan, although with intermittent unblocking. The ban has been taken to various high courts, which include the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Sindh High Court (SHC), and Peshawar High Court (PHC).

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) placed the onus on the Ministry of Interior, producing a letter in the SHC directing the watchdog to block X immediately until further notice. The interior ministry, after seeking extensions to file its response in the court, ascribed the ban to threats to national security, which it did not specify. 

In an IHC hearing on Wednesday of a petition filed by a resident, the interior ministry claimed that “lack of cooperation from Twitter/X authorities in addressing content that violates Pakistani laws and values further justifies the need for regulatory measures, including the temporary ban”, according to a report by Dawn.com.

According to the ministry, X had not responded adequately to the “requests of Pakistani authorities”, mainly the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s cybercrime wing, which sent multiple notices to the platform to take “significant action to block accounts involved in a defamatory campaign against the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan”.

The four petitions been, clubbed together, challenging X suspension in the SHC were also heard the same day. The SHC ordered the interior ministry to revoke its letter issued to the PTA containing directives to ban X within a week. The court remarked it would take action itself if the ministry failed to comply with the orders.

Throughout this period, contradictory statements were made by Attaullah Tarar, the federal information minister. He first claimed that X was working in the country, but admitted later that the platform was already blocked when the new government took over. Since the imposition of the ban, government officials and ministries continue to post on their verified X accounts, with none mentioning the blockage.

A joint statement signed by over 70 civil society organisations, rights advocates, journalists, editors, and individuals in other prominent positions from around the world was released on March 13. It called for immediate restoration of X, demanded transparency from the regulator, and requested the government to refrain from taking such arbitrary measures in the future. The statement said the X ban violated Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan and undermined Pakistan’s international law commitments. 

Earlier this month, Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD), a Pakistan-based digital rights and media and information literacy initiative launched a campaign titled “#RestoreX” against the prolonged suspension of the social media platform. It features quotes from digital rights activists, newsroom leads, and working journalists, calling for immediate restoration of X. The hashtags for the campaign are #RestoreX, #internetkholo (or unblock internet), and #TwoMonthsWithoutX.

Tags: PakistanX
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About Digital Rights Monitor

This website reports on digital rights and internet governance issues in Pakistan and collates related resources and publications. The site is a part of Media Matters for Democracy’s Report Digital Rights initiative that aims to improve reporting on digital rights issues through engagement with media outlets and journalists.

About Media Matters for Democracy

Media Matters for Democracy is a Pakistan based not-for-profit geared towards independent journalism and media and digital rights advocacy. Founded by a group of journalists, MMfD works for innovation in media and journalism through the use of technology, research, and advocacy on media and internet related issues. MMfD works to ensure that expression and information rights and freedoms are protected in Pakistan.

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