IANS | 17 Apr, 2024
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday slammed the federal
government over banning X, saying that the social media platform X is
banned on mere speculation.
Khurram Agha, Secretary Interior appeared before the IHC and
submitted a report while responding to a petition questioning and
challenging the ban on X.
The report called on IHC to dismiss the
petition, insisting that no right of the petitioner has been deprived.
“Failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the
government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its
platform necessitated the imposition of a ban. Petition against the
closure of X is contrary to law and facts,” the report of the Interior
Ministry said.
However, IHC said that the brief report submitted
by the ministry has failed to satisfy the court as the judge expressed
anger over it.
“What is this? Even my Secretary could produce a better one,” the judge said during the hearing at the IHC.
“The government has taken the decision to ban X on mere speculation,” the court observed.
The
court further instructed the authorities to present solid evidence and
justify that X is indeed a security “threat” to Pakistan.
Civil
society organisations including Amnesty International and the Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have also strongly condemned the
prolonged ban on the social media platform, terming it as a clear
violation of democratic freedoms in the country.
Pakistan’s FIA Cybercrime Wing had requested X to ban all accounts that were allegedly propagating against the Chief Justice.
“X
officials ignored the requests of the FIA Cybercrime Wing and did not
respond following which, the decision to temporarily close the site was
taken,” the ministry report said.
The report also highlighted that
the Interior Ministry issued orders for the closure of X on February
17, 2024, at the request of the country’s intelligence agencies with an
aim to protect and safeguard the country’s national security and law and
order situation.
“The decision to impose a ban on Twitter/X in
Pakistan was made in the interest of upholding national security,
maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation,”
the report stated.
