Regulator says it approached platform three times since 2022; court flags lack of lawyer access for jailed PTI founder
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority informed the Islamabad High Court on Thursday that it had approached X on three occasions over the past three-and-a-half years, seeking the suspension of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan’s account, but most of its requests were declined.
According to a PTA report submitted to the court, the authority first wrote to X on August 21, 2022, requesting that the Imran Khan’s account be blocked. A second request was sent on April 18, 2024, citing convictions in the Toshakhana, cipher and iddat cases, the report said.
The proceedings stem from a writ petition filed by citizen Ghulam Murtaza seeking the blocking of Khan’s X, formerly Twitter, account, during which the Islamabad High Court also took up a related contempt plea over the alleged non-implementation of its order allowing lawyer-client meetings at Adiala Jail.
The PTA told the court that a third request was made on November 27, 2025, seeking the blocking of “47 tweets” posted by the PTI founder. However, X acted on only one tweet, while the remainder of the request was rejected, according to the report.
Read: Adiala jail denies PTI founder running X account from prison
The PTA stated that despite contacting X “three times” during this period, the social media platform declined to suspend the account. The authority also informed the court that it had directed 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 noted 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 assessed under each platform’s internal policies.
The PTA’s report was submitted to the Islamabad High Court in connection with a petition seeking the closure of the PTI founder’s X account.
During hearings on January 21 and 22, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir repeatedly flagged concerns over the authorities’ failure to facilitate a meeting between Imran Khan and his counsel, PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja, despite a court order issued on November 4 permitting such consultation. Raja told the court that he had not been allowed to meet his client even once since filing the case, stating: “I have filed the case, but I am not being 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 lawyer-client access. “Without allowing the meeting, how will this case move forward?” Justice Tahir remarked, adding that once the meeting was arranged, the matter could proceed to final arguments scheduled for February 24.
Read More: IHC links X-case to Imran-lawyer access
During the same hearings, the court termed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) response in the X-account case “unsatisfactory,” noting a disconnect between the relief sought in the writ petition and the regulator’s reply. Addressing PTA’s counsel, Justice Tahir remarked that the authority should “look at what the writ petition is and then look at your reply.”
The government’s counsel argued that matters relating to jail meetings were being heard by a larger bench. However, the court declined to delay proceedings on that basis and sought a detailed written reply from the Advocate General Islamabad in the contempt petition concerning non-compliance with the November 4 order.
Imran Khan has been detained at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail since September 2023. According to submissions made before the court, he has not been allowed to meet his lawyers since November 2025.
