Pakistan Ban Twitter: Pakistan bans X, citing security reasons!

Pakistan has officially confirmed the ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform ‘X’ citing security concerns. The government had issued an order to ban ‘X’ in February, citing security threats. However, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the government to lift the ban on ‘X’, which is owned by Elon Musk.

Sindh High Court’s instructions to the government

Sindh High Court directed the government to revoke the ban on ‘X’ within a week. According to reports, this decision of the court comes after several petitions challenging the ban on the platform, in which questions have been raised about its legality and the government’s reasons behind it.

Government’s stance on security concerns

According to affidavits filed by the government in the court, the ban on ‘X’ was imposed due to misuse of the platform giving rise to national security concerns. The failure of the platform to address these issues made the ban necessary. At present, no official statement has come from ‘X’ on this matter.

Problems accessing ‘X’ from February 2024

Since February 2024, many Pakistani users have reported difficulties in accessing ‘X’ on other social media platforms. The ban confirms that ‘X’ has been suspended in Pakistan for an extended period. Some users have resorted to Virtual Private Network (VPN) to avoid the ban.

‘X’ will not be running in Pakistan from February 2024.

General elections were held in Pakistan on 8 February. During this period, the government blocked many social media platforms and shut down internet services for the entire voting day. Although many of these platforms resumed operations after the elections, users were still unable to access ‘X’.

The Sindh High Court had earlier directed the Telecom Authority to restore services for ‘X’. Still, the government did not follow the order. Now, the government has justified its stand in the court by terming ‘X’ as a threat to national security.