Lahore:

Senior PML-N leader and former Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has demanded the removal of the ban on X (formerly Twitter), which has been in place for a year.

In a statement on the platform on Saturday, Rafique said that despite the ban, users will continue to access the platform via VPNs, making the restriction ineffective.

“The ban on X has not earned any purpose in the past year. Everyone is still using it through VPNs, so it should now be lifted,” he said.

It is noteworthy that the platform was blocked in Pakistan shortly after last year’s parliamentary elections. However, users have continued to deal with restrictions using VPN services.

According to reports, x has approximately 4.5 million users in the country, many of whom remain active despite the official ban.

Meanwhile, the government has stated no signs of turning its decision with reports saying that the officials have suggested that the platform’s return was not on the cards soon.

Ironically, while the public remains locked out, government departments continue using X for official messages, probably through VPNs.

The platform, with about 4.5 million users in Pakistan, was blocked in February 2024, shortly after the parliamentary elections, during the officer’s government’s tenure.

The last nail in the coffin was a press conference of former Rawal Pindi commissioner Liaquat Chattha, accused the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and a former Chief Justice of Engineering Electricity Fraud.

One year later, the ban remains in place without indication of a political shift as users continue to complain about the lack of access to the popular social media platform.