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 regulator amends law to facilitate capital raising by listed companies
- The amendments address challenges faced by listed companies when raising further capital from existing shareholders through a rights issue
- Previously, listed companies were prohibited from announcing a rights issue if the company, officials or shareholders had any overdue amounts
KARACHI: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has notified amendments to the Companies (Further Issue of Shares) Regulations 2020 to facilitate capital raising by listed companies while maintaining adequate disclosure requirements for investors, it announced on Monday,
The amendments address challenges faced by listed companies when raising further capital from existing shareholders through a rights issue. Previously, listed companies were prohibited from announcing a rights issue if the company, its sponsors, promoters, substantial shareholders, or directors had any overdue amounts or defaults appearing in their Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report.
This restriction constrained financially stressed yet viable companies from raising capital, even in circumstances where existing shareholders were willing to support revival, restructuring, or continuation of operations, according to the SECP.
“Under the amended framework, the requirement for a clean CIB report will not apply if the relevant persons provide a No Objection Certificate (NOC) regarding the proposed rights issue from the concerned financial institution(s),” the regulator said.
The notification of the amendments follows a consultative process in which the SECP sought feedback from market stakeholders, including listed companies, issue consultants, professional bodies, industry associations, law firms, and capital market institutions.
The amendments are expected to enhance market confidence, improve access to capital for listed companies, and strengthen transparency within the rights issue framework, according to the SECP.
“To ensure transparency and protect investors’ interests, companies in such cases must make comprehensive disclosures in the rights offer document,” the regulator said.
“These disclosures must include details of any defaults or overdue amounts, ongoing recovery proceedings, and the status of any debt restructuring.”
The revised regulations strike an “appropriate balance” between facilitating corporate rehabilitation and enabling investors to make informed investment decisions, the SECP added.
