KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) withdrew the ban on the social media app TikTok on Friday.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) was directed by the SHC bench to unblock the app in the country.
The court lifted the ban after receiving assurances from the telecommunications regulator that it would rule on the petitioner’s plea by July 5.
The SHC ordered the concerned authorities to impose a ban on the video app, for the third time in twelve months, due to the immoral content on June 28.
PTA appraised the court that access to the app was blocked on June 30. They requested the court to review their decision and restore services.
The SHC withdrew the suspension order after hearing the arguments and directed the PTA to make a decision on the matter.
The hearing was then adjourned till next Monday.
The court directives were issued while hearing a petition against immoral content being uploaded on the app.
A notice was issued to the attorney general, where he was directed to suspend the app.
The attorney general said that his client had approached PTA before taking the matter into court, as PTA was not responsive.
The Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry presented his view on the verdict of banning the app till July 8 calling it “judicial activism”.
He said technology war was being fought in the world right now as companies were propagating against each other. The regulatory bodies and judiciary should stay away from such fights and the investors in Pakistan should be welcomed.
خوشی ہے کہ سندہ ہائیکورٹ نے TikTok پر پابندی کا فیصلہ واپس لے لیا ہے، دنیا میں اس وقت ٹیکنالوجی کی جنگ چل رہی ہے کمپنیاں ایکدوسرے کے خلاف پراپیگنڈا کر رہی ہیں ہمارے ریگولیٹری ادارے اور جج صاحبان کو اس لڑائ سے علیحدہ رہنا چاہئے اور جو پاکستان میں سرمایہ کاری کرے اسے خوش آمدیدکہیں
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 2, 2021
He commented; “Pakistan will never come out of its economic crisis if judicial reforms are not undertaken.”
He further said that Pakistan has suffered from losses worth millions due to ‘judicial activism’
