Activists and business leaders claim that the Pakistani government is “throttling the internet” with a Chinese-style firewall to “suppress dissent” and “gaslight” its people.
According to IT experts quoted by a Karachi online newspaper, internet connections have been up to 40 percent slower than normal since July. dawnThe government declined to comment for several weeks. Almighty Army He said he was fighting so-called “digital terrorism.”
But digital rights experts have charged that the creation of the national firewall is aimed at “strengthening surveillance and censoring political dissent”, charges the government denies. Activists say the “target” of the disruption is the party of jailed opposition leader and former prime minister Imran Khan, who remains “in power”.Very popular And it’s driven by a young, tech-savvy electorate.”
Subscribe this week
Escape the echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news and analysis from different perspectives.
Subscribe and save
Sign up for our free weekly newsletter
From our morning breaking news bulletins to our weekly Good News newsletter, we’ll deliver the week’s best stories straight to your inbox.
From our morning breaking news bulletins to our weekly Good News newsletter, we’ll deliver the week’s best stories straight to your inbox.
A Guide to Digital Censorship in Pakistan
Last week, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) described the “hastily” implemented firewall as a “sacrifice” of the country’s IT industry “sacrificed on the altar of misguided priorities.”
“This has given rise to a series of issues that threaten to lead to a complete breakdown in our business operations,” the group said in a statement. press releaseIt called it a “direct and aggressive attack on the viability of the industry” and warned that “unless immediate and decisive action is taken, a mass exodus of tech companies is no longer just a possibility but an imminent reality.”
They estimate the loss to the economy could be as much as $300 million, equivalent to one month’s worth of the country’s IT exports. registerPakistan’s actions seem similar to the effects of China’s Great Firewall abroad, but different from its impact at home, the tech website said, where access speeds “broadly remain high.”
But it would “not be surprising” if Pakistan were to introduce such a system, given its “history of censorship,” he said. Activists have long criticized Pakistan’s attempts to control the digital sphere.
The country cut off internet access last year when protests erupted. Khan’s arrest.X (formerly Twitter) has been banned since February citing “security threats” after it was used to share allegations of vote rigging against Khan’s party during the election.
Pakistan has also blocked access to Wikipedia and TikTok in recent years in an effort to restrict content it deems “inappropriate for religious reasons”.
Government Defense
After “weeks of protests from internet users”, the Pakistani government claimed it was upgrading its “web management system” to counter cybersecurity threats. Times of India.
Pakistan’s IT and Telecommunications Minister on Sunday denied that the government was responsible for the slow speeds, saying claims that the government was “throttling the internet to stifle dissent” were “completely false.”
Shaza Fatima Khawaja said the “frequent and unannounced drops” in connectivity were due to the widespread use of secure connections, or virtual private networks (VPNs).
“I can state under oath that the government has not shut down or slowed down the internet,” she told a news conference in Islamabad. Meetings with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) are scheduled this week “to ensure that users in the country do not face similar issues again.”
However, the Lahore High Court has summoned representatives of the government and the PTA to explain the obstruction. Activists have filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court, seeking that the internet be “declared a fundamental right under the Constitution of Pakistan,” the court said. BBCThe court is scheduled to hear the case on Monday.
After all, if the issue is that more people are using VPNs, dawn“Why did it have to involve the PTA?” What are the authorities trying to achieve? What is the timeline for the rollout of the new system? What can ordinary users expect? How can the government expect its citizens to respect the restrictions when the government itself is using a VPN to circumvent them? Even the Prime Minister of Pakistan and other government officials appear to be using a VPN to access and keep posting on X.
There are still “few” answers, and this “lack of transparency” keeps people in “deep doubt,” he said. “The public deserves more than ignorant lawmakers gaslighting them for suffering from poor internet connectivity.”
