The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday summoned representatives from the federal government, the information ministry and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) on August 21 over the issue of countrywide internet disruptions.

Major online platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp have been hit hard since last week with users reporting slowdowns and difficulties in accessing messaging and social media applications.

After months of speculation about the installation of a so-called ‘firewall’ that could be leading to internet disruptions, the country’s IT minister finally confirmed a day ago that the government was indeed upgrading its “web management system” to cope with cyber security threats.

Concerns about Pakistan’s economy potentially being hit hard due to the outages have been raised by the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), and the Pakistan Business Council that warned of multinational companies exiting the country.

Justice Shakil Ahmad took up a petition yesterday, filed the day before by Advocate Muhammad Nadeem. The petitioner had requested the court to declare “internet shutdowns” unconstitutional and to order the government to ensure uninterrupted internet services.

The federal government — through the law and information ministries as well as the cabinet division secretary — along with the PTA chairman were named as respondents in the case.

During yesterday’s hearing, the judge had grilled the state counsel for his lack of “knowledge” and seriousness in the matter, and had reserved his verdict on the petition.

Issuing the reserved verdict today, Justice Ahmad ordered that representatives of all the respondents in the case should ensure their attendance in the next hearing.

The judge summoned one representative each from the federal government, the Ministry of Information and the PTA at the next hearing on August 21.

He also sought responses from all parties on the matter.

Petition

The petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was filed on Thursday by Advocate Muhammad Nadeem.

The federal government — through the law and information ministries as well as the cabinet division secretary — along with the PTA chairman were named as respondents in the case.

It requested that the “action of the federal government (internet shutdowns) be declared to be unconstitutional and unlawful being inconsistent” with various articles of the Constitution.

According to the petition, the actions were in violation of Articles 9 (security of person), 18 (freedom of trade, business or profession), 19 (freedom of speech, etc), 19A (right to information) and 25A (equality of citizens).

It further urged the court to order the federal government to “ensure uninterrupted internet services throughout” the country.

“If internet shutdowns in the interest of national security and in the wake of law and order, same is to be intimated to public at large prior to closure citing reasons for closer and providing time frame as to duration of internet closure,” the petition read.

It argued that “by blocking, filtering, or shutting down these services, the government is eroding civic space; fostering a climate of economic uncertainty and disrupting access to healthcare, online business, emergency services and financial services.”

“Apart from the general public, hundreds, if not thousands, of companies have also been affected. Ride-hailing companies like Bykea, Careem and InDrive have taken the brunt, as their users — both drivers and passengers — need mobile data on the go,” the petition argued.

“Should these shutdowns continue even if they are limited to certain social media platforms they are likely to have far-reaching implications for investor confidence, export growth, and the country’s reputation in the global technology market,” it warned.