PESHAWAR: A lawyer on Saturday moved the Peshawar High Court against restrictions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in the country by the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

In the petition, Nouman Muhib Kakakhel said the court should declare the “systematic disruptions and blocking” of X unconstitutional and a violation of the fundamental and legal rights of the people at large, including him.

He requested the court to order the complete restoration of X service in the country.

The petitioner said the court should grant interim relief in the case by asking authorities to restore X service until the disposal of his petition.

Insists move violates people’s basic rights

The respondents in the petition are the federal government through the secretary of the Cabinet Division, the secretary of the ministry of information technology and telecommunication, and the PTA through its chairman.

The petitioner said that X was a social media micro-blogging platform used by public personalities, journalists, multinational companies, government departments, officials, and the public at large in the country to express their views, make announcements, and share ideas, and that restrictions on it were unconstitutional and unlawful.

He said that X was also a source of news, entertainment, a marketing tool for businesses, and an opportunity to connect and converse on various topics as a global community.

Mr Kakakhel pointed out that the telecom regulator PTA neither issued any notification about the systematic disruptions and blocking of X service in the country nor did it specify any reason for the move.

He said that Pakistan’s population mostly consisted of youth, who depended on information technology for learning, information, and livelihoods due to a lack of resources.

The petitioner said decision-makers blocked access to leading social media outlets, unlike other countries, both underdeveloped and developing, which were promotingthe ITT sector to offer their young generations access to the global IT market to earn and contribute to their national economies.

He contended that the media—the fourth pillar of the state—was powerful and effective like others, including the executive, judiciary, and legislature, as it helped form public opinions by providing the latest information to the people.

Mr Kakakhel claimed that social media had taken over a lion’s share of the space previously occupied by the traditional media and provided the people with an opportunity to express their opinions about every national issue.

He contended that if “miscreants” misused social media platforms in the country, they could be taken to task by the Federal Investigation Agency’s Cyber-Crime Wing and other authorities, but blocking access of the entire population to the social media platform was unjustified and against the law.

The petitioner said that the country had various laws under which those acting against national security or the interests of the state, judiciary, or any national institution, could be charged and punished in accordance with the law.

He contended that Article 19-A of the Constitution provided all residents with the right to information, but the government’s decision to block X service in the country went against it.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2024