KARACHI: The telecommunication regulator on Monday told the Sindh High Court (SHC) that social media platform X is still blocked and a contrary claim made by its lawyer during the previous hearing was a “mistake”.

The plea didn’t sit well with the two-judge bench, which expressed resentment over the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) “shifting stance” and warned that its chairman, PTA, could face contempt proceedings.

During the last hearing on Sept 12, two lawyers appeared on behalf of the telecom regulator in front of a bench, hearing a set of petitions filed against the suspension of mobile and internet services and ban on X since February.

One of the lawyers, Ahsan Imam Rizvi, told the judges that X was no longer blocked as the notification to ban the platform had been “withdrawn”.

Irked by regulator’s ‘shifting stance’, judges warn of contempt

Meanwhile, Saad Siddiqui, who was also representing PTA in a related petition, said he had no knowledge about the notification’s withdrawal.

Based on Mr Rizvi’s contention, the bench disposed of a petition to restore X.

After the order, the telecom regulator moved a fresh application and urged the court to modify the order. It claimed that the lawyer was inadvertently given wrong instructions by the PTA.

The regulator claimed that it “[mixed] up the petition in question with an intra-court appeal heard by the same bench”.

“[T]he letter dated 17-02-2024 issued by the respondent No.1 [ministry of interior] is still in field as such statement made on the instructions of the respondent No. 3 [PTA] is contrary to facts,” it maintained.

A two-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Jawad Akbar Sarwana, took up the fresh application on Monday.

The bench noted the court was hearing a set of identical petitions about restrictions on social media for which the PTA had engaged different counsel. It added that one of the petitions was disposed of after Mr Rizvi stated that the ministry’s letter seeking the ban on X had been withdrawn.

A federal law officer kept quiet about such withdrawal while PTA’s second lawyer said he was unawa­­re of the move, the bench noted.

When the judges asked the PTA’s counsel if the fresh plea sought to review the previous order, the lawyer replied it was for modification, alteration and recalling of the order. The bench expressed resentment over the remarks, reminding him that at the previous hearing, the PTA lawyer was repeatedly asked about his statement. Yet the PTA now claims that “there was a confusion in the mind of the lawyer”.

Later, the court fixed the case for hearing on Sept 24.

The court is jointly hearing separate petitions filed by journalists and academics to restore X and by lawyer and activist Jibran Nasir for suspending mobile internet and broadband services on the day of the general elections.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2024