Elon Musk's X Temporarily Suspended In Pakistan Over National Security Concerns: Here's What Went Down

Pakistan's interior ministry had earlier conveyed to the court that the decision to ban X stemmed from the microblogging platform's failure to comply with the government's lawful directives.

Pakistan's interior ministry disclosed on Wednesday that it had initiated a temporary suspension of the Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform X back in February due to concerns related to national security, reported Reuters. This revelation confirmed the suspicions regarding the abrupt shutdown of the platform. Reports of users encountering difficulties with X (formerly known as Twitter) emerged in Pakistan since mid-February. Despite these issues, the government had not issued any formal statements regarding the situation.

The ministry had earlier conveyed to the court that the decision to ban X stemmed from the platform's failure to comply with the government's lawful directives. Citing threats to national security, the Pakistani authorities justified the ban.

This information was disclosed by the Interior Ministry in a written submission to the court on Wednesday.

According to a statement from the report seen by Reuters, "It is very pertinent to mention here that the failure of Twitter/X to adhere to the lawful directives of the government of Pakistan and address concerns regarding the misuse of its platform necessitated the imposition of a ban."

Acknowledging the directive, Pakistan's communications authority admitted in court documents that it was instructed by the Interior Ministry to enforce the shutdown of the site.

Elon Musk is yet to offer an official statement on the suspension, at the time of writing.

Limited Accessibility

The platform experienced limited accessibility since February 17, following calls for protests by the incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party against a government official's acknowledgement of vote manipulation in February's election.

The Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court made remarks regarding the suspension of X since February. This suspension was enforced by the government citing national security concerns.

Last month, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) informed the court that it blocked the social media platform following directives from the Ministry of Interior and intelligence agencies.