Talks between Pakistan and X fail to restore the social media platform

Negotiations between the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the social media platform X’s foreign management have failed to restore the latter in the country, a private TV channel reported on Monday.

According to the report, PTA has decided not to restore the service on its own without explicit government or court directives.

PTA officials have confirmed that despite multiple exchanges of correspondence, X has refused to register in Pakistan or comply with local laws. The regulatory authority maintains that the platform’s policies conflict with Pakistani regulations, preventing a resolution, the report added.

PTA further revealed that the platform was blocked on February 17, 2024, following directives from the Ministry of Interior, citing concerns over illegal online content. Despite being repeatedly asked to remove or block such content, X neither complied with the requests nor submitted a formal appeal for service restoration.

Additionally, PTA clarified that the Ministry of Interior has not issued any instructions regarding X’s reinstatement, reinforcing the uncertainty over when, or if, the platform will be accessible again in Pakistan.