Pakistan has restricted access to the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, citing reasons of national security.
The was made through a written submission to the Islamabad High Court by the Ministry of Interior. This follows widespread speculation and reports of the platform being inaccessible around the time of the February elections.
Disruptions to the platform began in mid-February, with calls for protests by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, contesting the legitimacy of the election results.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and government officials remained mum regarding the cause of the outages, as reported by users and monitored by internet watchdogs like NetBlocks.
In the court document, the Ministry of Interior stated that the ban was imposed due to the platform’s failure to comply with government directives aimed at addressing its misuse. “The decision to impose a ban on Twitter/X in Pakistan was taken in the interest of upholding national security, maintaining public order, and preserving the integrity of our nation,” the ministry elaborated.
Additionally, the ministry mentioned that the platform had been uncooperative in resolving issues concerning the Pakistani government. The ban was reportedly implemented to quell dissent following the elections on February 8, which were marred by allegations of vote rigging and subsequent protests. Further security measures included mobile service shutdowns on election day.
The ministry’s submission noted that the blockage of X was based on confidential intelligence and security reports indicating that hostile elements were exploiting the platform to incite chaos and destabilise the country.
Despite the government’s stance, the Sindh High Court responded to a legal challenge against the ban by ordering the restoration of access to the platform within one week. This decision, reported by the AFP news agency, was part of a separate legal action initiated by lawyer Moiz Jaaferi.
The intermittent access to X has led users to resort to virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass restrictions, according to Alp Toker from NetBlocks.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s PTI party, known for its active presence on social media and particularly affected by traditional media censorship, has found its voice stifled leading up to and following the polls. Khan himself boasts a following of over 20.6 million users on X.