Pakistan court suspends order seeking YouTube ban on government critics

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khans party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),carry a cutout of him, as they gather, to protest what they call a black day and a stolen mandate in last years general election, during a rally in Swabi, Pakistan February 8, 2025. REUTERS/Salahuddin/File Photo

ISLAMABAD - A Pakistani court on Friday suspended an order seeking to ban the YouTube channels of more than two dozen critics of the government including former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a defence lawyer said.

Alphabet-owned YouTube this week told 27 content creators that it could block their channels - including those of journalists and Khan and his opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf - if they failed to comply with a judicial magistrate court order seeking to ban them.

A regional communication manager for YouTube did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The judicial magistrate court in Islamabad had said it was seeking the ban after the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency criticised the channels in a June 2 report for sharing highly intimidating, provocative and derogatory contents against state institutions and officials of the state of Pakistan.

The decision to suspend the order was taken by an additional sessions judge, said Imaan Mazari, the lawyer for two of the YouTube content creators.

In Pakistan, an additional sessions judge is a judicial officer