The Sindh High Court has issued orders to provide uninterrupted Internet service to all citizens until the upcoming elections on February 8.
A two-member bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Abbasi, took up the plea of advocate Jibran Nasir.
The lawyer and social worker, who is also a candidate for PS-110 constituency of the Sindh Assembly, approached the Sindh High Court against the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and others over repeated shutdowns and interruptions of internet service. The court accepted the request for immediate hearing.
Jibran Nasir told the court that on December 17, January 7 and January 20, internet service and access to social media were suspended across the country, while internet service has been disrupted in various parts of the country for several consecutive days.
In the petition, he adopted the stance that due to the unjustified shutdown of internet service, it has become difficult for candidates to conduct their election campaigns.
The ministries of interior and IT as well as the PTA have been made parties to the petition, which has asked for the parties to be instructed not to interfere with the citizens' access to social media until the general elections.
The court issued a stay order against the suspension of internet service and asked the parties to respond on January 29.
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