NextFin news, An Islamabad district and sessions court on Thursday lifted a ban on 27 YouTube channels that had been ordered by a lower judicial magistrate. The court overturned the earlier order to block these channels, granting relief to 11 petitioners who had appealed against the ban.
The original ban was imposed in June after the Islamabad court ordered YouTube to block the channels for allegedly disseminating "fake, misleading, and defamatory" content against the government and armed forces of Pakistan. The banned channels included those run by journalists, political commentators, and social media influencers both within Pakistan and overseas.
Among the affected channels were those belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, journalists Matiullah Jan, Wajahat Khan, Ahmad Noorani, and Asad Ali Toor, as well as former news anchors Imran Riaz, Orya Maqbool, Sabir Shakir, and Moeed Pirzada.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Afzal Majoka presided over the hearing on Thursday and expressed strong disapproval of the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency's prosecutor, stating, "You have started getting your work carried out through us. I will never let this happen. Tell me under which authority channels can be shut down? You are trying to defame the judges."
The judge also warned that petitions of those whose lawyers failed to appear in court would be dismissed for non-compliance. After the hearing, the judge reserved his verdict and subsequently overturned the lower court's order to the extent of the 11 petitioners who had appealed.
The initial ban order had sparked criticism from various legal and digital rights groups concerned about freedom of expression and judicial overreach. The Islamabad sessions court's decision on Thursday marks a significant development in the ongoing legal proceedings related to digital content regulation in Pakistan.
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