ISLAMABAD: For the second consecutive day on Thursday, government officials faced intense grilling by parliamentarians over slow internet and frequent outages.

The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom witnessed a heated debate over the throttling of internet, leading to an emotionally charged response by the minister of state for IT and the PTA chairman.

The minister, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, told the committee that the IT or any other industry has not reported any issues related to the internet.

She reiterated that Pakistan was facing terror threats and internet shutdowns were “necessary in certain conditions”.

The minister’s response angered PPP MNA Sharmila Farooqi, who expressed disappointment over the officials’ attitude.

“Four meetings [of the committee] have been held, and yet no solution has been found. Either we are lying or the government is,” Ms Farooqi said.

While addressing the minister, Ms Farooqi said her comment that the industry faced no losses due to internet disruption was contrary to the facts.

“My husband runs an e-commerce company; he has suffered losses due to repeated internet slowdowns,” Ms Farooqi claimed.

“Is everyone lying about internet speed? The fact is whenever the PTI gives a protest call, we all face internet shutdown immediately,” she said.

“Are we fools who come to the committee meeting only to hear that everything is going well,” she said while referring to the government’s responses to prevalent internet issues.

‘No malice’

The committee chairman, MNA Syed Aminul Haque, also expressed concern over the internet slowdown.

He said that in an earlier meeting, the committee was told by the Pakistan Tele­communication Authority (PTA) that the speed would improve by October 2024.

“But the concerns persist regarding internet issues, which are causing the financial losses amounting to millions of dollars to the country,” Mr Haque added.

The PTA chairman, retired Maj Gen Hafeezur Rehman, said three out of seven submarine cables connecting Pakis­tan were damaged in recent times, leading to significant internet disruptions in the country.

He further explained that the PTA blocks internet on the directions from the federal government, Ministry of Interior, and courts.

There was “no malicious intent” behind these actions, Mr Rehman assured the committee.

A day ago, the PTA chief told the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom that blocking access to the internet was a “legal grey area” and called for the ministries of law and interior to justify its legality.

The NA committee decided to summon the secretaries of law and interior ministries in the next meeting for a briefing on the issue of regular internet shutdowns.

5G rollout

Mr Rehman told the committee that the current allocation of 270 MHz spectrum was insufficient for Pakistan, which has a population of 240 million. It resulted in network choking issues.

However, he announced that the 5G spectrum auction is planned for April, which will significantly improve the internet situation in the country.

Ms Khawaja also said the government was trying to solve these issues and referred to the discussion with Elon Musk’s internet company, Starlink, to bring satellite-based internet to Pakistan.

PTCL properties

The committee expressed displeasure over PTCL’s repeated failure to provide a list of its properties.

The committee directed the PTCL management to provide a complete list of propertiesatn the next meeting.

The committee was infor­med that the Privatisation Commission serves as the custodian of sales and purchase agreement of PTCL and oversees all related matters.

It was clarified that PTCL cannot sell any property without prior approval from its board.

The IT minister briefed said a special Committee, headed by the finance minister, has been formed to address this issue.

The Senate body sought the findings of the special committee for review in its next meeting.

MNA Haq, the committee chairman, instructed that the sale and purchase agreement of PTCL with UAE telecom giant Etisalat should be shared to examine its clauses in detail.

The committee also deferred the ‘Digital Nation Pakistan Bill’ till its next meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2025