The regulator claims to have approached the platform three times since 2022; court signals lack of access to lawyer for imprisoned PTI founder
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority on Thursday informed the Islamabad High Court that it had contacted
According to a PTA report submitted to the court, the authority first wrote to X on August 21, 2022, requesting that Imran Khan’s account be blocked. A second request was sent on April 18, 2024, citing convictions in the Toshakhana, cipher and iddat cases, according to the report.
The proceedings followed a petition filed by citizen Ghulam Murtaza seeking the blocking of Khan’s account
The PTA told the court that a third application was filed on November 27, 2025, seeking the blocking of “47 tweets” posted by the PTI founder. However, X only acted on one tweet, while the rest of the request was rejected, according to the report.
Read: Adiala prison refuses PTI founder to operate X account from prison
The PTA said that despite contacting X “three times” during this period, the social media platform refused to suspend the account. The authority also informed the court that it had ordered social media companies to register with the PTA and appoint local representatives in Pakistan, but said the companies had “neither registered nor appointed a local focal person”.
The report further notes that social media companies are registered in their respective countries and “do not consider themselves bound by the laws of other states”, adding that complaints from other jurisdictions are evaluated within the framework of each platform’s internal policies.
The PTA report was submitted to the Islamabad High Court as part of a petition seeking closure of the PTI founder’s X account.
During hearings on January 21 and 22, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir repeatedly raised concerns about the authorities’ failure to facilitate a meeting between Imran Khan and his lawyer, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, despite a court order issued on November 4 allowing such a consultation. Raja told the court that he had not been allowed to meet his client even once since the case was filed, saying: “I have filed the case, but I am not allowed to meet my client. »
The court questioned how proceedings could move forward without legal consultation, observing that final arguments could not be heard in the absence of attorney-client access. “Without authorizing the meeting, how will this matter move forward? Judge Tahir remarked, adding that once the meeting is arranged, the case could proceed to final arguments scheduled for February 24.
Learn more: IHC links X-case to Imran’s lawyers’ access
During the same hearings, the court termed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) response in the Account X case as “unsatisfactory”, noting a discrepancy between the relief sought in the writ petition and the regulator’s response. Speaking to the PTA lawyer, Justice Tahir remarked that the authority should “consider the nature of the request and then consider your response”.
The government lawyer argued that issues related to the prison meetings were heard by a larger court. However, the court refused to delay the proceedings on this basis and sought a detailed written response from the Islamabad Advocate General to the contempt petition regarding non-compliance with the November 4 order.
Imran Khan has been detained at Adiala Prison in Rawalpindi since September 2023. According to statements made in court, he has not been allowed to meet his lawyers since November 2025.
