PTI demands immediate restoration of X services

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday demanded the immediate restoration of X, formerly Twitter, services in the country, ARY News reported.

Reacting to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s statement regarding the X blockage, a PTI spokesperson said that the “unnecessary blockage” of the social media platform is causing insult to the country around the globe.

The spokesperson for the PTI, founded by former prime minister Imran Khan, said that the closure of X violated Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The former ruling party claimed that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had been using mass media for negative propaganda.

The X services remained suspended across the country since February 17. The Sindh High Court had ordered the restoration of the popular social media platform, however, it remains blocked in the country.

A day earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called for a review of laws governing social media to curtail ‘its misuse’ amid a nationwide closure.

“In a country like the US where TikTok is getting banned, we will also need to review our social media laws besides making sure that there is ‘no ban’ on the freedom of expression,” Mohsin Naqvi added.

He emphasised that the misuse of social media which results in smear campaigns against politicians, judiciary, and other national institutions “needs to be kept in check”.

Rights organisations including Amnesty also signed a joint statement urging the authorities to restore access to X services.

The statement stated that such actions not only violate fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and access to information but also seek to suppress genuine political discourse, including various voices within the country.

Amnesty called on the Pakistani government to work transparently on such decisions affecting the free use of the internet.