SHC Orders Complete Restoration of Social Media Platforms

The Sindh High Court (SHC) instructed the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to reinstate access to social media platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), throughout Pakistan for the fifth consecutive day after Rawalpindi Commissioner admitted to rigging of election results.

This directive came in response to a petition challenging recent nationwide internet shutdowns as unconstitutional, brought before an SHC bench presided over by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi. Additionally, the court has demanded a report from the PTA regarding the suspension of internet services on election day and has issued a notice to the federal government.

Despite watchdog groups initially reporting outages on Saturday, the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, remains inaccessible to users in Pakistan. NetBlocks, an organization monitoring internet accessibility, confirmed on February 17th that Pakistan experienced a “national-scale disruption” affecting X following widespread protests sparked by allegations of vote rigging in the general elections.