The Lahore High Court has directed the Punjab government and other relevant parties to submit their responses to a request by Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari regarding action on a fake video.
The directive came during a hearing presided over by LHC Chief Justice Alia Neelam.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) informed the court that a suspect, Shafiq, had been arrested in Gujrat in connection with the case. Chief Justice Neelam questioned whether the arrested individual was responsible for creating and distributing the fake video, to which the FIA responded that the investigation is ongoing and more suspects are likely to be identified as the inquiry progresses.
The CJ remarked that if the video was uploaded on social media from one account, it should be caught, adding that some good work is also happening on social media. The chief justice emphasized the importance of utilizing technology for good purposes while preventing its misuse.
"Good things should be used, but bad things should be stopped," she maintained.
The federal government’s lawyer noted that Twitter, now named X, has been banned in Pakistan since February 17, and there is no direct representative of the platform in the country. The court was informed that the FIA had written to the American Embassy following established protocols.
The CJ remarked that the letter being shown in court had been there from the first day, asking under which SOPs Twitter services were provided in the country.
The federal government’s lawyer also highlighted the challenges of controlling VPN usage, pointing out that in countries like the UAE, using a VPN can be considered a significant offence.
After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the case until August 29, allowing time for the Punjab government and other parties to prepare and submit their responses.
