IHC to hear plea against X ban in Pakistan

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IHC to hear plea against X ban in Pakistan
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has fixed Febraury 6 for hearing the plea challenging the ban on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The petition, which was last heard on April 17, 2024, has faced multiple delays, with prior hearings on May 2 and June 11, 2024, also being postponed.

A miscellaneous application for an early hearing was accepted by the court on November 22, 2024.

IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq, after reviewing the case, directed that the petition be heard after the winter vacation period.

In March, the interior ministry admitted to the Sindh High Court (SHC) that X had been officially blocked in February based on intelligence reports. Access to the platform has been restricted in various parts of Pakistan since February 17.

However, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar clarified that the ban on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, was imposed due to national security concerns, not to limit freedom of expression.

Notably, Pakistan has landed in the bottom 12% globally for both mobile and broadband internet speeds, as reported by Ookla's Speedtest Global Index.

The index ranked the country 100th out of 111 countries in mobile internet speeds and 141st out of 158 countries in broadband speeds as of October.

For the past several months, users across the nation have been facing slow connections, including difficulty downloading media on WhatsApp and frequent connectivity issues.

The disruptions have raised concerns, particularly as Pakistan continues to experience interruptions to internet access and reports of restricted virtual private network (VPN) usage.

VPNs, which many Pakistanis rely on to access blocked websites such as X (formerly Twitter), have become increasingly restricted.

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