In the wake of countrywide internet disruptions and speculation over firewall installations, State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Sunday termed reports suggesting that the government was throttling the internet as “completely false”.

On Thursday, Khawaja said that the government had ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant bodies to submit a report after citizens in various cities of Pakistan noted they were facing internet connectivity issues.

She also confirmed that the government was indeed upgrading its ‘web management system’ to cope with cyber security threats.

Her statement came a day after the business community and internet service providers alleged that the government’s heightened efforts to monitor internet traffic — including a so-called ‘firewall’ — had resulted in a significant nationwide slowdown of services, leading to losses to the economy.

The Lahore High Court has summoned representatives from the federal government, the information ministry, and the PTA on August 21 over internet disruptions.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad today, Khawaja acknowledged the recent frustration among the public regarding internet issues.

“I want to reassure the public that the internet has neither been shut down nor slowed down by the state,” she said.

“Reports suggesting that the internet was being throttled are completely false. The issue was limited to a few services on certain apps not downloading, which led a large segment of the population to start using VPNs.”

She explained that when a large number of people use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) or local caches and connect directly to live servers, it puts additional pressure on those servers, which can ultimately slow down the internet.

“Even when you use VPNs on your phones, you may notice that your device automatically slows down. This is because the increased traffic exerts pressure, which led to the internet slowing down for a few days,” she said.

“I can say under oath that the government neither shut down nor slowed down the internet.”

Khawaja claimed that the government had been “working tirelessly” to resolve the issue and has held meetings with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecom companies.

A meeting, she said, had also been scheduled with the PTA next week to “ensure that users in the country do not face similar problems again.”

She reiterated that there was “no truth to the rumor that the government is throttling the internet to suppress dissent.”

The minister also urged citizens to “speak responsibly” about Pakistan since the internet was a “critical resource, and we must handle discussions about it with care.”

Irresponsible talk can damage the industry, deter investment, hurt freelancers, and negatively impact Pakistan’s perception abroad, she said.

She further acknowledged the country’s challenges related to the health of the telecom sector born from constrained revenues.

“The government is committed to investing in digitalization, developing policies, and allocating budgets to promote this industry,” Khawaja said.

‘Govt setting up a firewall blown out of proportion’

Earlier this week, Khawaja acknowledged the public’s concerns and said that the internet should never be slow and that news about a firewall being installed by the government was “blown out of proportion”.

“We have even been talking about bringing 5G technology to Pakistan. There is no doubt about that, and conversations about higher [internet] speed are underway.”

The minister added that the government setting up a firewall had been blown out of proportion, adding that it was a routine exercise across the globe to enhance internet security.

“There was a web-management system being operated by the government before too, which is now being upgraded,” she had said. “It is the right of the government to [take such measures] given the cyber security attacks that this country has to go through.