Pakistan on Thursday lifted the ban on the India Today website after it was blocked following a plea against the publication’s latest issue, which carried a photo of Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif on its cover. The image of Sharif has imprints of a hand photoshopped on to his cheek, creating the impression that he had been slapped. The headline read ‘India gets tough’. Now, the India Today domain in Pakistan says, “The site you are trying to access contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan. This website cannot be reached."

In his plea, Abdul Hameed said India Today’s website should be banned in the country because the magazine has been publishing anti-Pakistan stories. The Lahore High Court set the plea aside, and asked the petitioner to take up the matter with the federal government. The bench observed, “Decision to block any website is the job of Parliament. The citizens should approach the elected government on such matters.” Hameed had asked the court to direct Islamabad to take up the issue with New Delhi, besides ordering the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to ban the magazine's website, according to PTI.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, which is responsible for regulating internet content in the country, has not commented on the matter yet.