Fact-check: PTA lawyer falsely claims ban on X has been lifted

A lawyer representing Pakistan’s telecom regulator recently claimed in court that the government’s notification banning X, formerly known as Twitter, had been withdrawn. 

This claim led the court and social media users to believe that the microblogging platform had been restored in the country after a seven-month ban.

The claim is false. X is still blocked in the country.

Claim

On September 12, during a hearing in the Sindh High Court regarding the slowdown of internet and social media services in Pakistan, Ahsan Imam Rizvi, a lawyer representing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), alleged that a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior on February 17, instructing the PTA to block X, had been withdrawn.

According to the court's order, the lawyer reiterated this claim multiple times, stating that PTA had instructed him to do so.

This claim led several social media users to believe that X had been restored after being suspended for over seven months.

Fact

The official ban on X (Twitter) has not been lifted.

On September 12, the same day claims circulated on social media, the PTA issued a brief press release stating that X was “not accessible” in Pakistan.

Malahat Obaid, the spokesperson for the PTA, confirmed the same to Geo Fact Check over the phone. However, neither the spokesperson nor the press release provided an explanation for why PTA’s lawyer made a false statement in court.

Geo Fact Check also attempted to access X. It remains blocked and is only accessible via a VPN.

Geo Fact Check further spoke to Ahsan Imam Rizvi, the PTA's counsel in the SHC, who called his statement a “mix-up” and a “misunderstanding,” without offering further details.

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