The Lahore High Court (LHC) has strongly criticised the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) over its failure to justify the prolonged ban on X (formerly Twitter), warning that contempt of court proceedings could be initiated for wasting judicial time.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Alia Neelam, heard the petitions challenging the closure of X. During the hearing, Chief Justice Neelam remarked, “It has been a year, and you have done nothing. Why not take contempt of court action for wasting the bench's time?”

On the court’s orders, PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeezur Rehman and other officials appeared before the bench. The chief justice asked under what method X was shut down, and issued a last warning to the federal government to submit its response in court. "After this, the head of the cabinet will be summoned," Justice Neelum warned.

The federal government’s lawyer, Asad Bajwa, informed the court that the Interior Ministry lacks a system to track who is using what platforms. However, he mentioned that the PTA had formed a committee regarding the issue, and submitted a written response to the court.

This statement prompted a sharp response from the chief justice, who remarked, “The ministry has a system for turning off X, but not to find out who is using this system? It seems the committee was formed just to mislead the court.”

The court also questioned the PTA chairman whether he used VPNs. The chairman initially denied using a VPN himself, but admitted that the PTA was using it. The CJ remarked that this is illegal. However, moments later, he retracted his statement, saying, “I apologise I have just been told that PTA is not using VPN.”

CJ Neelam criticised the PTA chairman for his inconsistent statements, asking, “What have you come here for?” The bench also questioned how the government could block X while PTA officials themselves were using the platform through VPNs.

Justice Ali Zia Bajwa asked whether PTA’s official X account was still active. The PTA chairman admitted, “Yes, our X account is running.” In response, Justice Bajwa remarked, “You have imposed a ban, yet you are using the platform yourself?”

Legal concerns over X’s ban

During the proceedings, the court inquired under which law X was banned. Justice Ali Zia Bajwa noted that while specific content could be restricted, an entire platform could not be shut down.

“You can stop inappropriate content on X, but you cannot block the entire platform,” he stated.

The court also asked whether the Pakistani government had any formal agreement with X. The federal government’s lawyer confirmed that there was no such agreement, leading the chief justice to question how the government expected compliance from the platform.

When questioned about VPN usage in Pakistan, the PTA chairman acknowledged that all X users in the country were accessing it via VPNs. Justice Farooq Haider then asked if VPNs could be blocked. The chairman responded that VPNs could not be blocked immediately but could be restricted over time.

Court grants final deadline

Expressing dissatisfaction with the PTA chairman’s responses, Chief Justice Neelam stated that the government was being given a final opportunity to explain the legal basis of X’s closure. She warned that if a satisfactory response was not provided, the court could summon the head of the cabinet.

Justice Ali Zia Bajwa pointed out that PTA had previously stated it would unblock X immediately if ordered by the court. The chairman confirmed this, saying, “Absolutely, if the court orders, we will open X immediately.”

The Lahore High Court has adjourned the hearing until April 8, directing PTA to clarify the legal grounds for the ban on X and submit relevant data.

The federal government’s lawyer argued that VPN usage was legal to some extent. In response, Chief Justice Neelam demanded data on how much X was being accessed via VPNs. The PTA chairman admitted, “I cannot provide exact data at this time.” This response frustrated the Chief Justice, who remarked, “You are in such an important position, yet you have no data?”