In mid-February, the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), stopped working in Pakistan. It only worked if you used a VPN. At that time, a caretaker government was in place; it was just after the February 8 general elections and a new government was yet to take over. When the media asked the caretaker government about this, it pretended casual cluelessness as if everything was normal and that it must be some random glitch. After the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and its allies formed the government, even they pretended as if X was working just fine.

It was only in April that the federal interior ministry finally confirmed what we all knew — that X was not accessible. The interior ministry informed the Islamabad High Court that the ban on X was necessary owing to its failure to address concerns regarding its “misuse”. The interior ministry said 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.” Almost five months have passed since the ban and now the government is much more open about it and actually getting more brazen with every passing day when it comes to defending the ban.

In its response to the Sindh High Court, where many petitions have been filed against the ban on X and the intermittent suspension of internet services in Pakistan, the federal government said that the move was “legitimate” when it came to addressing national security concerns. Interestingly, the interior ministry said that the ban on X does not violate Article 19 of the Constitution. “While Article 19 enshrines fundamental right [of freedom of speech and expression] it is subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law and in the interest of public order, morality and sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan.”

Article 19 of Pakistan’s Constitution says: “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement to an offence.”

Many have rightly asked the government how national security is under threat on a microblogging site and, if indeed X is such a threat, why is it that government officials, politicians and ministers, including the prime minister, continue to use X for disseminating policy statements or news for local and international audiences. No satisfactory answers have been given to this question. But if there was any such threat, surely the government officials would not be tweeting away.

A few months ago, a PML-N leader had tweeted that the ban on X must end as it has not benefitted anyone and has only led to international embarrassment. In the same tweet, he said that political things should be dealt with politically, which made it quite obvious that he was referring to how this ban was most likely due to the presence of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on social media. It is quite bizarre that a State would ban a social media platform because it is unable to counter PTI’s propaganda or narrative. Banning X is not just wrong but makes the State look weak.

Unfortunately, the government is also installing a national firewall on different internet service providers to rein in social media with filters capable of blocking unwanted content from reaching a wider audience. The News reported on June 7 that the latest firewall will be used to inspect information originating from different internet protocol addresses. From banning X to installing a firewall, we are inching closer to a North Korea-like internet system one step at a time. It is astounding that the government — even if it is a hybrid one — thinks that it can curb our fundamental freedoms by limiting our access to the internet. This is why it is all the more important that this hybrid system is reversed. If this continues, we will have no freedoms left by the time another hybrid government completes its tenure.

Mehmal Sarfraz is a journalist based in Lahore; mehmal.s@gmail.com