While regretting the blockage of social media sites across the country from 11 am to 3 pm on Friday, the newly re-instated information minister promised that he will try his best that the measure is not taken again in the future.

"I regret the three-hour suspension of social media and seek an apology over it," Chaudhry said in a statement and added, "every effort will be made to prevent a shutdown of social media in the future,"

The federal minister said a defunct organization was using social media services to spread provocative messages in the society and the concerned quarters had to take pre-emptive measures to control the spread of objectionable material.

It is pertinent to mention that the interior ministry's decision to impose a four-hour ban on social media networking sites coincided with the cabinet's decision to proscribe a religiopolitical party.