KARACHI: A high court in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province observed on Tuesday that prima facie, social media was being “managed” in the South Asian country, amid a weeks-long disruption in service of X and complaints about slow Internet speed.
The remarks by the chief justice of the Sindh High Court (SHC) came during hearing of multiple petitions filed in the court with regard to the disruption of X and slow Internet in the country.
X first went down on Feb. 17 when a senior government official publicly confessed to manipulating results of Feb. 8 general election in a few constituencies. Since then, netizens have experienced sporadic disruptions in X service.
In its response to the petitions, a lawyer representing the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) said they did not have the equipment to slow down the Internet, while the interior and telecom ministries sought more time to submit their replies.
“Prima facie, social media is being managed, but who is doing it will also come out,” Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi said, in his remarks during the hearing.
“People listen to journalists who can’t say something on national TV (television) due to some reasons and express their opinions through social media, and this happens across the world.”
The court served notices to PTA chairman and other officials on lawyer Jibran Nasir’s petition seeking contempt of court proceedings against the PTA chief over his failure to improve X and Internet services.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till March 20.
Pakistan’s national election last month was marred by a mobile Internet shutdown on the election day and unusually delayed results, leading to widespread accusations that it was rigged.
Several political parties, including former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and candidates have since held protest demonstrations against the results. In recent weeks, the disruption in X service was observed on a number of occasions when protests were called by political parties against alleged vote manipulation.
The disruption has raised widespread concerns about the state of democratic freedoms in Pakistan, with the United States and several international organizations urging authorities to provide unhindered Internet access and leading digital rights activists calling the blockade a “blatant violation” of civil liberties.
Amid X disruption, court says prima facie social media being ‘managed’ in Pakistan
https://arab.news/85ggr
Amid X disruption, court says prima facie social media being ‘managed’ in Pakistan
- X first went down on Feb. 17 when an official confessed to manipulating Feb. 8 vote results
- Since then, netizens have experienced sporadic disruptions in X service amid political protests
Pakistan’s finance chief heads to Riyadh to highlight climate funding priorities at global summit
- Muhammad Aurangzeb will join high-level talks on securing capital for climate adaptation and resilience
- The visit includes bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials to deepen bilateral economic cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb left for Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend the Global Development Finance Conference in Riyadh, said an official statement, where he will present Islamabad’s perspective on climate adaptation and financing.
Pakistan is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, grappling with recurrent floods, heatwaves and rising adaptation costs that far exceed its domestic resources.
Last month, while addressing COP30 in Brazil via video link, Aurangzeb urged reforms to global climate-finance mechanisms, arguing the Green Climate Fund was mired in “bureaucracy” and the Loss and Damage Fund had made little progress four years after its launch.
The finance division said the minister had departed for Riyadh to take part in the conference, a three-day gathering focused on new development-finance models.
“During the conference, Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb will participate in a high-level session on climate adaptation and resilience, where he will join global leaders in discussing how developing countries can secure the capital needed to address climate vulnerabilities,” the statement said.
“His participation will highlight Pakistan’s priorities in climate finance and the government’s efforts to strengthen economic resilience in the face of global environmental challenges,” it added.
Aurangzeb is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with senior Saudi officials, including leadership of the National Development Fund and the Ministry of Finance, to discuss development financing, investment opportunities and broader economic cooperation.
The statement said he will give interviews to international media outlets such as CNN and CGTN to outline Pakistan’s reform trajectory and development-finance needs.
The finance chief will additionally meet Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Riyadh to review ongoing economic diplomacy initiatives.
The Global Development Finance Conference, organized under the patronage of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aims to bring together more than 100 speakers from over 120 international and regional organizations.
The conference is positioned as a key platform within Vision 2030 to accelerate innovative financing models and support countries seeking sustainable growth amid rising global climate and development pressures.
