ISLAMABAD: Chinese social media application TikTok said on Saturday it "received no communication" on why its service remains blocked in Pakistan despite recent engagement with the country's telecommunications regulator.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced on Oct. 9 that it had banned the popular app over failing to remove “immoral” content from its platform.
On Monday, the telecommunications regulator said representatives of TikTok held a virtual meeting with PTA officials at to arrive at a "mutually acceptable mechanism" for the app to be unbanned in Pakistan. The ban, however, remains in place.
"After TikTok was blocked in Pakistan, we continued to engage with the PTA to demonstrate our commitment to comply with local laws and further enhance our content moderation capacity,” TikTok spokesman said in a statement.
“Though the PTA acknowledged and appreciated these efforts, our services remain blocked in the country and we have received no communication from PTA.”
Also on Saturday, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the PTA to present a senior officer at the next hearing of a petition filed against the TikTok ban. While hearing the petition against the ban on Thursday, the court issued notices to PTA, the federal government and the ministry of information technology and telecommunication over the decision to block TikTok.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah asked PTA to explain reasons for the move.
“In this way the entire internet will have to be shut down,” he said, reminding PTA that the court had already directed the regulator to frame rules to exercise its powers under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016, which PTA had failed to do.
The court also appointed president of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, Shehzada Zulfiqar, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, Abid Saqi, journalist Mazhar Abbas and former information minister Javed Jabbar as amici to assist the court on the issue of the banning of online platforms and its implications for freedom of expression and speech and right to access information.
In August, Pakistan blocked five dating apps, namely Tinder, Tagged, Skout, Grinder and SayHi. On July 21, PTA said it had banned the Singaporean live-streaming app Bigo over “immoral, obscene and vulgar content” and issued a last warning to Tiktok for “similar” reasons. Bigo was subsequently unbanned. The hugely popular online game PUBG also remained banned in Pakistan through July.
In September, PTA said it had approached TikTok to immediately block “objectionable content” available on its platform in Pakistan and prevent the use of its platform “for disseminating illegal content.”
“PTA has done so keeping in view the negative effects of indecent/immoral/nude content available on the platform,” PTA said in a statement. “In addition, the platform has been directed to put in place an effective content monitoring and moderation mechanism to proactively remove indecent/immoral content failing which necessary action will be taken under the law.”
In its August transparency report, TikTok has said Pakistan was one of five markets in the world with the largest volume of videos removed due to breach of community guidelines and terms of service.
In its Saturday statement, TikTok hinted that if the ban is lifted, it may invest in the local market: "If the Government of Pakistan decides to reopen access to our services in the future, we can assess our allocation of resources to this market."
TikTok says 'no communication' from Pakistan on why platform remains blocked
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TikTok says 'no communication' from Pakistan on why platform remains blocked
- Islamabad High Court calls on telecoms regulator to explain reasons for banning the app
- Company hints at investing in Pakistan if the ban if its services are unblocked
ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives
- Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in weather patterns
- The projects in Sindh and Punjab will restore nature-based coastal defenses and enhance agricultural productivity
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed more than $300 million agreements to undertake two major climate resilience initiatives, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Tuesday.
The projects include the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP), valued at Rs50.5 billion ($180.5 million), and the Punjab Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture Mechanization Project (PCRLCAMP), totaling Rs34.7 billion ($124 million).
Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns. In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses, while another 1,037 people were killed in floods this year.
The South Asian country is ramping up climate resilience efforts, with support from the ADB and World Bank, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas.
“Both sides expressed their commitment to effectively utilize the financing for successful and timely completion of the two initiatives,” the PID said in a statement.
The Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) will promote integrated water resources and flood risk management, restore nature-based coastal defenses, and strengthen institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning, directly benefiting over 3.8 million people in Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts, according to ADB.
The Punjab project will enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience across 30 districts, improving small farmers’ access to climate-smart machinery, introducing circular agriculture practices to reduce residue burning, establishing testing and training facilities, and empowering 15,000 women through skills development and livelihood diversification.
Earlier this month, the ADB also approved $381 million in financing for Pakistan’s Punjab province to modernize agriculture and strengthen education and health services, including concessional loans and grants for farm mechanization, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and nursing sector reforms.
