LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday sought replies from the federal government and the Pakistan Tele­communi­cation Authority (PTA) on a petition challenging the suspension of internet service and access to different social media platforms in the country.

Advocate Abuzar Sal­man Niazi, the petitioner in person, contended before the court that the entire social media platforms incl­uding Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had been blocked for an indefinite period in the country. He said the internet service on the mobile phones had also been suspended by the PTA.

He argued that blocking the access to internet and social media forums was in violation of the country’s laws and fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.

He said that although no order by the PTA had been placed on record, it had been published in all newspapers that internet service had been suspended across the country.

The petitioner asked the court to take notice of the situation and enforce the fundamental rights of the citizens by directing the respondents to immediately restore the internet service across the country.

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh issued notices to the respondents for submission of replies by May 22.

The judge also issued a notice to the attorney general for Pakistan for assistance on the inter­pretation of relevant laws and various provisions of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2023