Court issues notice to PTA in TikTok ban case

The Peshawar High Court has sought a response from the federal government within 15 days on the request to impose a complete ban on TikTok. The petition stated that relevant authorities have failed to remove ‘profane and obscene’ content on the app.

According to media reports, the bench, comprising of Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Sahibzada Asadullah, fixed June 20 for the hearing.

The petition was filed by a lawyer, Imran Khan, who requested the court to order the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Ministry of Information to arrest the defendants on TikTok in Pakistan and to ban the platform permanently.

According to the petition, the guidelines of Tik Tok violate the Constitution of Pakistan.

It has also been requested to the court to direct the defendants to not allow social applications in future which would affect the moral values of the people of Pakistan.

Barrister Babar Shehzad Imran appeared on behalf of the petitioner and argued that while there are benefits of social media, some social media platforms have opened the way for blasphemy against decency, morality and the glory of Islam in countries like Pakistan.