On July 8, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah ordered the blocking of 27 YouTube channels belonging to several journalists.
Islamabad Court ‘Suspends’ Decision to Block Matiullah Jan, Asad Toor’s YouTube Channels. Days after a local court in Islamabad ordered to block 27 YouTube channels, primarily of journalists, the District and Sessions Court has officially reversed the ban on YouTube channels of several journalists.
In a verdict on July 11, Additional Sessions Judge Afzal Majoka revoked the ban on the YouTube channels of journalists Matiullah Jan (MJTV) and Asad Toor.
In a post on X, journalist Toor wrote, “In a big victory, Additional session judge Afzal Majoka SUSPENDS judicial magistrate Abbas Shah’s order to ban YouTube channels, ‘Asad Toor Uncensored’ and ‘Matiullah Jan MJtv'”.
Earlier on July 8, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah ordered the blocking of 27 YouTube channels belonging to several journalists and the opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
The order came after the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) moved to the court against the channels for allegedly airing anti-state content and spreading “false, misleading and fake” information.
The YouTube channels in question belonged to journalists Imran Riaz Khan, Siddique Jaan, Orya Maqbool Jan, Mattiullah Jan, Asad Toor, Ahmad Noorani, Wajahat Saeed, and many others. The official YouTube channel of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party channel, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), were also on the list.
