PAKISTAN can be an odd place. Here, high functionaries of the state can — with a straight face — hold forth on issues such as access to the internet, while the administration implements policies that are diametrically opposed to the matters being pontificated about. Take, for instance, the ongoing internet slowdown. Speaking at a conference recently, Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani observed that Pakistan believes in “digital inclusion” whereby technology can serve as a “catalyst for equitable and sustainable growth”. He claimed that 50pc of the population in the region lacked internet access, which was “hindering true progress and development”. These are wise words uttered by the Senate chairman. But did he stop to reflect on the fact that it is the government that has, of recent, been trying its best to champion digital exclusion in Pakistan?

Activists and common citizens have for weeks been raising their voices against the throttling of the internet by the state, supposedly to control the flow of information. Mr Gilani spoke of the fact that Pakistan is a “significant contributor” to the global freelance economy. Yet the reality is that the slowdown has been negatively affecting online businesses and freelancers in the country. At a time when Pakistan needs every dollar it can get to shore up its fragile economy, the state’s policies are driving away both investors and our brightest minds. When asked, state functionaries have come up with a variety of confused excuses: the overuse of VPNs is responsible; there are problems in the submarine cables; upgrades in the ‘web management system’ have slowed down the internet, etc. Rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have called for transparency in the use of surveillance technology in cyberspace, warning against “unnecessary [and] disproportionate” measures. If the state is serious about digital inclusion, and wants to attract the best tech talent to the country, then an internet free of ‘firewalls’ is essential.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2024