Concerns over national security following claims of content targeting national institutions have led the Interior Ministry of Interior to unequivocally declare that X (previously Twitter) cannot be reinstated in Pakistan.
In a written reply to the Sindh High Court on the suspension of the internet and social media app X, the ministry made this statement.
Asserting that the ban is required to preserve stability, the government sticks to its guns in the face of judicial challenges and public uproar.
X is a threat to national security, the Interior Ministry argued in response to a plea against the ban on X and the internet filed in the Sindh High Court. Clarification was provided, guaranteeing regulatory compliance and the proper execution of all legal processes prior to the imposition of the ban.
“The job of the Ministry of Interior is to protect the rights of the people of Pakistan,” said the reply.
Article 19, which protects the right to free speech and expression, is not broken, the ministry claims, by prohibiting X. In order to avert possible destabilization, it contended that content posted on X, especially that which targeted national institutions, called for immediate action.
On social media, particularly on X, a foreign firm that has received repeated warnings to abide by the law, there is content that disparages national institutions. According to the response, the ministry was forced to temporarily halt operations.
X’s involvement in spreading content that could cause instability and unrest in the nation was allegedly brought to light by sensitive reports from security organizations. The government claimed, “Some elements want to use X to spread instability throughout the country.”
In order to protect national interests and avert any threats to public order, the ministry insisted that the ban was a preventive step. “The application is inadmissible and should be rejected in national interest,” it was seeking.
Hardly much has been posted on the social media site X since the PTI called for protests on February 17 in response to the then-Rawalpindi commissioner’s admission of manipulating votes in the polls on February 8.
