SHC orders Interior Ministry to withdraw letter of closure of X

 The Sindh High Court has ordered the Interior Ministry to withdraw the letter of closure of X (Twitter), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

During the hearing of closure of X case on Wednesday, the court remarked that if the letter of the Ministry of Interior is not withdrawn within a week, the court will issue its order.

The court further directed the Interior Ministry to submit the reasons for the closure of X by May 9.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has submitted a report to the Islamabad High Court against the closure of social networking site X (Twitter).

Islamabad High Court heard a petition against the closure of social media platform X (Twitter).

The Ministry of Interior submitted a report to the court and pleaded that the petitioner has not been deprived of any right, so the petition should be dismissed.

The report of the Interior took the position that X did not comply with the orders of the Government of Pakistan regarding the misuse of the platform, therefore it was necessary to ban X.

In the report, the position was taken that the request against the closure of X is against the law and facts, the FIA cyber crime wing had requested X to ban the accounts propagating against the Chief Justice.

Ignored the request of A Cybercrime Wing and did not even respond.

Non-cooperation by X authorities is justification for regulatory actions against the platform, including temporary closure. X is registered in Pakistan and is not a party to an agreement to comply with Pakistani laws.

The government has no choice but to temporarily shut down X.

The report of the Ministry of Interior further states that on the request of intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Interior issued orders for the closure of X on February 17, 2024.

The decision to close X was taken to maintain national security and law and order situation. Social media platforms are being used indiscriminately to spread extremist ideas and false information. X is being used as a tool by some nefarious elements to undermine law and order and promote instability.

The report further states that X's closure is not intended to curtail freedom of expression or access to information, but is aimed at the responsible use of social media platforms in accordance with the law.

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for the protection of the citizens of Pakistan and national stability, earlier the social media platform Tik Tok was also banned by the government.

The ban was lifted after TikTok signed an agreement to abide by Pakistani law. According to the report, X's ban is not against Article 19 of the Constitution. Social media platforms are banned by various countries around the world due to security reasons.

Reporters: Mumtaz Jamali and Ehtesham Kiyani