Pakistan’s Minister of State for Law and Justice, Barrister Aqeel Malik, has cautioned that the government may move to ban certain social media platforms if they fail to cooperate with regulatory authorities, according to a report published by Dawn.
The warning comes amid heightened scrutiny of digital platforms in the country, where X — used by approximately 4.5 million Pakistanis — has remained blocked since February 2024, about 10 days after the general elections.
During an appearance on a Dawn News programme, Barrister Malik was asked whether the government was considering blocking the X account of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.
He responded that “investigations are ongoing.” He further stated that although the government had reached out to X, the platform “has shown the least cooperation” among major social networks.
Criticising the platform, the minister argued that X must avoid selective enforcement. “Posts related to Palestine are removed, and accounts blocked, within 24 hours. Here, we are talking about a matter of terrorism,” he said.
Malik added that the government has repeatedly issued reminders to social media firms and warned that non-compliant platforms could face prohibitions similar to those imposed in other countries, naming Brazil as an example.
“Brazil’s courts had issued orders, which were then accepted, and a fine of USD 5.2 million was paid. All content taken out of context was removed,” he said.
Before being blocked on August 30, X reportedly had 22 million users in Brazil. The restriction was ordered by Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes after the platform failed to comply with multiple directives aimed at combating disinformation.
According to Malik, the government issued another reminder to platforms on Thursday, reiterating that authorities have already flagged the use of social media for terrorism, misinformation, and disinformation.
“We have asked them to open offices here in Pakistan, but there has been no response. Some social media platforms are cooperating well, but X is cooperating the least,” he said.
Earlier, on October 4, Malik had stated that inquiries related to Imran Khan’s X account were still underway and that the government was in communication with the platform. He said any decisions regarding a potential block would be announced once sufficient evidence emerged.
As reported previously, Imran Khan was questioned in prison by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) officials about his “anti-state” tweets, critiques of foreign policy, and other comments, according to an October post shared on his official X account.
In September, a petition was submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging what the petitioner described as inflammatory posts issued from Imran’s official X account during his incarceration. The petitioner sought directions for the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to conduct a full investigation into who has been operating Imran’s account while he is detained.
Imran Khan, imprisoned since August 2023, is serving a sentence at Adiala Jail in a £190 million corruption case and faces multiple additional trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act related to the May 9, 2023 protests, Dawn reported.