Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja announced on Thursday that the government has instructed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant agencies to submit a report following claims of internet connectivity issues from citizens in various cities across Pakistan.
Her statement comes in response to allegations from the business community and internet service providers that the government’s increased monitoring of internet traffic has caused a significant nationwide slowdown in services, resulting in financial losses.
The Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP) reported that internet speeds have dropped by 30 to 40 percent over the past few weeks and warned that the situation is so severe that many businesses are considering relocating their operations abroad.
Speaking to reporters, Khawaja emphasized that the government has requested a report from the PTA and other institutions regarding the internet disruptions. “We have asked the relevant authorities, including the PTA, to inform us about the impact on data traffic over the last two weeks,” she stated.
“Internet connectivity should never be slow; we are even in discussions about introducing 5G technology in Pakistan. There is no doubt about this, and conversations about enhancing internet speed are ongoing,” she added.
The minister clarified that the government’s establishment of a firewall has been exaggerated, explaining that it is a routine measure taken globally to improve internet security. “A web-management system has been operated by the government previously, and it is now being upgraded. It is the government’s right to implement such measures, especially in light of the cyber security threats that the country faces,” she said.
Major online platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp, have experienced significant slowdowns since last week, with users reporting difficulties in accessing messaging and social media applications.
Some users have speculated that these disruptions are linked to the installation of a firewall by the government aimed at monitoring user activity. However, the PTA has denied that the slowdown is due to a firewall and stated that it has not received any complaints regarding internet disruptions.
Reported Outages
According to Downdetector, an internet outage tracking website, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) experienced the most significant disruptions, while services from Zong, Nayatel, and Fiberlink were also affected. Downdetector noted a sharp increase in reported outages for PTCL starting around 12:30 PM.
Most outages were reported in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Islamabad, and Multan. During the same period, Zong users reported over 35 outages, while Nayatel users filed more than 30 complaints. Additionally, Meta platforms Facebook and WhatsApp also saw a notable rise in outage reports around 1 PM, with both platforms experiencing a higher-than-usual number of disruptions in the past 24 hours.
Senate Body Calls for Resolution Within Two Weeks
In the meantime, the Senate’s standing committee on IT has directed the Ministry of Information Technology to resolve the issues of internet disruptions and access to social media apps within two weeks.
During the committee session, chaired by PPP Senator Palwasha Khan, members from both the treasury and opposition raised concerns regarding the outages. PTI Senator Humayun Mohmand emphasized that these disruptions are negatively impacting businesses across Pakistan.
PML-N’s Afnanullah Khan claimed that the cyber slowdown has cost the country at least Rs 500 million.
In response, IT Secretary Aisha Humera Chaudhary acknowledged that there was a “disruption in services of mobile operators” and suggested it could be a technical issue that would be resolved soon.
The committee subsequently instructed the IT ministry to address the connectivity issues affecting internet and social media platforms within two weeks and requested a report on the losses incurred due to these disruptions.
