Microblogging site X says ‘continue to work’ with Pakistan govt to understand its ‘concerns’

Islamabad: A day after the Pakistan government told a high court that the popular microblogging website X has been banned in the country due to national security issues, the social media platform on Thursday for the first time said that it continues to work with the relevant authorities on their concerns.

The Elon Musk-owned social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, was suspended in Pakistan on February 17 when former Rawalpindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha accused the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of being involved in rigging the February 8 general elections.

In a brief statement, X’s Global Government Affairs team said, “We continue to work with the Pakistani Government to understand their concerns.”

We continue to work with the Pakistani Government to understand their concerns.

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 17, 2024

On Wednesday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) heard a petition by journalist Ehtisham Abbasi against the disruption in the access to X.

Interior Secretary Khurram Agha, on behalf of his ministry, submitted a report on the IHC highlighting the “failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban”.

The report said the interior ministry had on February 17 “asked for blocking of X (Twitter) immediately till further orders” on the reports of intelligence agencies.

Separately, the Sindh High Court, in a similar hearing, summoned a response from the Interior Ministry on the ban on X by May 9 and ordered it to rescind its February 17 letter within a week, which had disrupted the service.

Various rights bodies and journalists’ groups have condemned the ban while internet service providers have also lamented losses due to disruptions.