ISLAMABAD – X, formerly known as Twitter, has been blocked in Pakistan since mid-February around the general elections over what the government officials describe as “security concerns”.

X users started reporting the shutdown of the platform in February after Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced protest against alleged rigging in Feb 8 general elections.

At the time, both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) avoided commenting on the outage of X in the country.

Later in April, the Ministry of Interior admitted that it had blocked access to social media platform around the general election on national security concerns.

The matter was also took up in courts but there has been no action to restore X in Pakistan.

Many government officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and general public have been using the X through VPN software.

Update on Restoration of X in Pakistan

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari talking to media on Friday said the government was not against the social media. He said once rules and regulations are established, the ban on X (formerly Twitter) will be lifted.

Many countries have implemented laws to regulate social media as freedom of expression is sometimes misused.

She further mentioned that social media accounts are regulated worldwide, and digital terrorism is conducted through social media accounts. “Once rules and regulations are established, the ban on X (formerly Twitter) will be lifted. All accounts should operate according to these rules and regulations.”

A day earlier, the PTA chairman said the X will be restored after directives are issued by the government.

Both officials however have not given final date on restoration of the social media platform X.