ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad overturned a judicial magistrate’s order that imposed a ban on 11 YouTube channels. The channels were previously accused of broadcasting content labeled as “anti-state.”
In June, Judicial Magistrate Abbas Shah had ordered the authorities to block 27 popular YouTube channels at the request of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). However, after hearing appeals from 11 YouTubers, Judge Afzal Majoka declared the magistrate’s closure order null and void.
During the hearing, Judge Majoka expressed dissatisfaction with the NCCIA prosecutor, questioning the agency’s authority to impose such bans. He criticized the actions of the NCCIA, emphasizing that such overreach would not be tolerated, and raised concerns about efforts to malign the judiciary.
The magistrate’s original ruling was based on evidence provided by the NCCIA, which claimed that the content of the blocked channels violated the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Penal Laws of Pakistan. However, the district court has now annulled the decision, and the appeals were accepted.
The move comes after the contentious PECA (Amendment) Bill 2025, which came into law in January, introducing stricter penalties for spreading “false” information and establishing regulatory bodies to handle such issues.
