The statements were made by the chief judge during Ihtisham Abbasi’s appeal against the suspension of X services in Pakistan. The joint interior secretary informed the IHC CJ at the beginning of the hearing that X services had been suspended based on the security institutions’ findings.
Judge Aamer Farooq expressed dissatisfaction with the joint interior secretary’s actions.
The IHC CJ said, “Show a report, don’t do a speech in court.” He said, “I can speak more persuasively than you, but we need documentation and evidence showing which X services have been blocked.”
The IHC judge asked the joint secretary, “How would you assist the court? You have appeared before the court without any file or report.”
IHC CJ Justice Aamer Farooq made a suggestion to call the interior secretary while challenging the joint secretary of the interior’s actions.
“Do I need to call the interior secretary?”
The hearing was subsequently postponed until April 17.
An outfit called NetBlocks, which keeps an eye on online accessibility problems, verified on February 17 that X in Pakistan has experienced a “national-scale disruption” following widespread demonstrations in the nation brought on by the suspected tampering of votes in the country’s general elections.
