Sindh High Court Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi on Wednesday ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTI) to immediately restore the internet services in the country.

Justice Abbasi conducted a hearing on a case about the shutdown of internet service and social media platforms where the issue of restriction on internet services on election day was also discussed.

It is pertinent to mention that internet services and social media platforms including X, formerly known as Twitter, Facebook, and other services were restricted as the polling began on February 8.

The caretaker government had said that the action was taken owing to threat alerts and for the safety of voters across the country.

Read: VPN usage surges in Pakistan amid continuous internet shutdowns

The PTA counsel told the court that the authority took the action on the directions of the Ministry of Information and Ministry of Internal Affairs.

During the hearing, the court directed the PTA counsel to present reasons for the closer of internet services on February 8, the election day.

The PTA counsel said that the internet services were restricted due to the law and order situation across the country.

While the internet services have since been restored, accessibility to X has remained disrupted intermittently for the last few days.

Users reported slow or non-existent accessibility to X on February 17 as parts of the country still facing issues accessing the platform.