Daily Times

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has given the federal government a “final chance” to explain its decision to ban social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The court questioned the complete ban, stating that objectionable content can be blocked without shutting down an entire platform. The case stems from a suspension of X in February last year.

PTA Chairman Major Gen (retd) Hafeez Ur Rehman appeared in court, submitting a written response to the petitions. The government’s lawyer, Asad Bajwa, argued that the Ministry of Interior lacks a system to track individual internet usage, which led to the blanket ban. The court was skeptical, with Chief Justice Aalia Neelum questioning the lack of a tracking system.

The court also asked about the government’s communication with X administration. The CJ expressed doubt over how X would respond to the government without a formal agreement. Justice Ali Zia Bajwa sarcastically noted that despite banning X, the PTA was still using the platform.

During the hearing, the PTA chairman admitted that all X users in Pakistan were accessing the platform via VPN. He later retracted his statement, which led to a rebuke from the Chief Justice. The court emphasized that while content blocking is allowed, banning an entire platform is not justified.