KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday issued notices to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other respondents on a petition filed against the government decision to suspend mobile internet services and restrict access to social media platforms.

A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh, also put the federation through ministry of information technology & telecom, interior secretary and Sindh chief secretary on notice with a direction to file comments till May 19.

Advocate Hyder Raza petitioned the SHC and submitted that former prime minister Imran Khan was arrested on the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9, triggering protests across the country and that the respondents had completely suspended mobile internet service throughout the country for an indefinite period and access to social media platforms had also been blocked by the PTA.

He argued that broadband internet services were also either broken down or functioning at a painstakingly slow speed.

IT & telecom ministry, interior secretary told to file comments by 19th

The petitioner contended that he had severely been affected by such measures as he was unable to access the internet or WhatsApp freely, which was disturbing the work as well as communication with his clients. He said that his children were also unable to access YouTube.

He also stated that such measures on part of the PTA were unimaginable in the present age as the whole world revolved around the use of technology, which was essential in daily lives of almost all citizens of the country.

He maintained that the livelihood of many people depended on the use of the internet, including people earning a living through online food delivery and ride-hailing applications and they had been severely affected by this issue. Such suspension was directly affecting their right to live and conduct trade and business, he added.

The access to e-learning platforms, online meetings and interviews was also affected as the internet speed was extremely slow, affecting the education and job prospects of citizens, he said.

The petitioner argued that suspension of mobile internet services and blockage to social media platforms were illegal and unconstitutional, being against the fundamental rights and several other constitutional provisions including Articles 9, 15, 18, 19 and 19-A of the Constitution.

He sought directives for the respondents to restore mobile internet services as well as access to social media and restoration of broadband internet at normal speed.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2023