Tech Desk 
Dec 19, 2024
Despite the Digital Nation Pakistan bill approved by the National Assembly, parliamentary secretary for cabinet secretariat Sajid Mehdi said it was impossible to predict how long the internet disruptions will remain unaddressed.
Regarding the internet throttling, the government official stated during an NA session on Wednesday: “Neither the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) nor the cabinet division can give a time frame. The Interior Ministry knows better when the security situation will improve, or [whether] the situation [is] fine or not.”
It was reported that Mehdi also pointed to emerging cyber threats behind the internet issues in question, preventing the authorities from taking measures to fully restore internet services in the country.
Abdul Qadir Patel, a member of NA, expressed dissent over the longstanding internet crisis, noting that one even struggles to open voice notes and photos on the popular messaging platform WhatsApp.
Patel also wondered over the firewall PTA was working on why these issues are taking so long to be resolved.
Sharing her views on the matter, Shazia Marri, another lawmaker, criticised the government over the introduction of the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill amid digital deadlock imposed in the country.
“The people responsible here are telling users that their internet service provider might be at fault, but the internet is okay. I’m tired of hearing the term firewall […] We are no longer capable of talking about e-commerce,” she lamented.
Minister of State for IT and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja briefed parliamentarians that social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was banned by PTA on the directives of the interior ministry, claiming that the IT ministry played no part in it.
