The IHC had accepted Senator Mian Muhammad Ateeq’s plea to become a party against the ban on TikTok. The case was chaired by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah. Advocate Maryam Fareed came on the behalf of the petitioner while Munawar Iqbal Dogal represented the PTA. Deputy Attorney General Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah was also present in the high court.
IHC Directs Deputy AG to Raise TikTok Issue in Federal Cabinet
The IHC asked whether the PTA had sought a policy framework from the federal government as per its directives. “Is TikTok currently open or closed nationwide?” the court inquired. The PTA counsel replied that nearly 99% of the app was launched via proxy. Furthermore, the high court inquired why the PTA wanted to cut off the country from the rest of the world. According to Justice Athar Minallah, “If you can’t beat the technology then why are you doing this?” The justice also inquired from PTA’s lawyer about what had happened to a previous court verdict entailing “taking advice from the federal Cabinet in this regard,” and if the federal government had managed to draft a policy in this regard. CJ Minallah proceeded to inquire if the directives to ban TikTok had come from the federal Cabinet, and he was answered in the negative. The defending lawyer clarified that Furthermore, he added that PTA should devise ways and new techniques to deal with the new challenges related to technology instead of outright banning what they can’t control, and deferred the case until 20 September, 2021.
