IHC Directs Deputy AG to Raise TikTok Issue in Federal Cabinet

Recently, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has asked the deputy attorney general to raise the TikTok issue in the federal cabinet. In July, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had reblocked access to the video-sharing app for its failure to meet the guidelines and remove “obscene content”.

The IHC had accepted Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq’s plea to become a party against the ban on TikTok. The case was chaired by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah. Advocate Maryam Fareed came on the behalf of the petitioner while Munawar Iqbal Dogal represented the PTA. Deputy Attorney General Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah was also present in the high court.

IHC Directs Deputy AG to Raise TikTok Issue in Federal Cabinet

The IHC asked whether the PTA had sought a policy framework from the federal government as per its directives.
“Is TikTok currently open or closed nationwide?” the court inquired. The PTA counsel replied that nearly 99% of the app was launched via proxy.

Furthermore, the high court inquired why the PTA wanted to cut off the country from the rest of the world. According to Justice Athar Minallah,

Why social media apps are not being banned in the outside world though the law is strict there? What does PTA want from this [ban]?

“If you can’t beat the technology then why are you doing this?”

The justice also inquired from PTA’s lawyer about what had happened to a previous court verdict entailing “taking advice from the federal Cabinet in this regard,” and if the federal government had managed to draft a policy in this regard. CJ Minallah proceeded to inquire if the directives to ban TikTok had come from the federal Cabinet, and he was answered in the negative.

The defending lawyer clarified that

The federal Cabinet did take up the issue, however, no directives of imposing a ban were issued.