The National Assembly has dismissed reports that its official YouTube channel was shut down, saying the disruption was caused by a temporary technical glitch rather than a deliberate move to stop coverage of parliamentary proceedings.
The clarification comes days after the House of Commons YouTube channel appeared to be unavailable, with live streams of proceedings not visible on the platform.
In a statement released on social media late Friday, a spokesman for the House of Commons said the channel had “not been shut down at any time”.
Instead, a “social media failure” briefly affected access to NA’s YouTube channel, he added, noting that the error was removed later in the day, after which the channel “became fully operational” again.
The spokesman also pointed out that recordings of the latest joint session of Parliament, including the speeches of members, have now been uploaded and are available for public viewing.
It should be mentioned here that parliamentary sessions had previously been transmitted directly through the channel as part of efforts to make the negotiations more accessible to the public.
The absence of coverage also coincided with a period when the NA’s proceedings were not aired on state television, prompting questions from opposition lawmakers.
In response to the suspension of the broadcast, some opposition members also claimed that the government was trying to limit public access to parliamentary debates. However, House of Commons officials maintained throughout that the issue was of a technical nature.
The issue gained attention when a joint session of parliament was convened on Friday by President Asif Ali Zardari, which passed three bills that had been returned by the president without his signature, according to a statement from the presidency.
The joint session later passed three bills which included the National Commission on Human Rights Amendment Bill, 2025; the Danish Schools Authority Bill, 2025; and the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2025.
President Zardari had returned the bills last month despite their passage by the Senate and the National Assembly.
