Millions of Pakistanis have for weeks experienced slow Internet connections and problems with accessing social media platforms.
Activists say the authorities are installing a China-style national Internet firewall aimed at exerting more control over the online space and crushing dissent.
Islamabad has denied allegations that it is behind the Internet slowdown, which has disrupted businesses and triggered widespread complaints in the South Asian country of some 240 million.
Pakistanis have been unable to promptly send emails or use the messaging application WhatsApp, which is used by tens of millions of people. Businesses and entrepreneurs say the Internet slowdown has disrupted their daily work.
Among them is Omeed Khan, a freelance video editor from the capital, Islamabad.
The 21-year-old said he has been unable to download or upload lengthy videos for weeks. Unable to meet the deadlines set by his mostly international customers, his livelihood has suffered.
“This Internet slowdown is detrimental to our work,” said Khan, who used to earn several thousand dollars per month. “Our clients will quickly move to freelancers in neighboring India and Bangladesh.”
Financial experts have warned that the Internet disruptions could exacerbate the severe economic crisis in Pakistan.
The government estimates that the country earns more than $2.5 billion annually from digital exports of products and services.
Pakistan Software Houses Association, which represents IT companies, said in a statement on August 15 that the disruptions could cost the already fragile economy around $300 million.
“This is not going to invite investment into the country or business,” said Farieha Aziz, co-founder of the nongovernmental digital rights group Bolo Bhi.
‘Stricter Controls’
For weeks, Islamabad refused to comment on the slowdown. In recent days, officials have provided contradictory remarks about the reason behind the disruptions.
Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja admitted on August 15 that the government was tinkering with the Internet, revealing that it was “upgrading a web-management system” it had previously installed.
Khawaja had previously blamed the Internet disruptions on more Pakistanis using virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent government controls.
On August 21, Hafeezur Rehman, the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), claimed that a faulty undersea Internet cable was to blame for the disruptions.
Activists say there is no doubt that the government’s alleged implementation of a national firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms is to blame.
They say the building of a China-style firewall and filtering system is designed to increase surveillance and stifle dissent, especially criticism of the country’s all-powerful military.
The civilian government is backed by the military and the PTA is overseen by a retired general.
The alleged implementation of the firewall comes as Pakistan's military, which has an oversized role in the country’s domestic and foreign affairs, says it is battling "digital terrorism."
Military officials in recent months have alluded to the threat posed by the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf political party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as civil and political organizations in the restive provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that have been critical of the army.
Aziz of the digital rights group Bolo Bhi said the alleged building of the firewall has raised questions about its impact on Pakistanis’ fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and access to information.
“There has to be disclosure, transparency, due process, none of that we’ve seen,” she said.
Ramsha Jahangir, a senior policy and communications associate with Global Network Initiative, a Washington-based global digital rights watchdog, said that “placing stricter controls will now add significant privacy concerns with increasing surveillance of Internet activity.”
'Web-Management System'
In recent years, Pakistan has built what officials have called a web-management system, which the authorities have used to block websites, including foreign news websites.
But activists say the alleged firewall is likely to be more sophisticated and capable of identifying individuals who upload or share content on social media platforms.
The PTA is reportedly seeking mandatory local registration and licensing for Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Netflix.
These companies must comply with removing and blocking content Islamabad declares unlawful under its controversial cyberlaws and regulations.
According to Freedom House, a U.S. global rights watchdog, Pakistan is already one of the countries where the Internet is “not free.”
“Authorities routinely use Internet shutdowns, platform blocking, and arrests and harsh convictions to suppress unwanted online speech,” the organization said in its 2023 report.
The report noted that "online activists, dissidents, and journalists are often subjected to harassment" and in some cases "physical assault and enforced disappearances."
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a rights watchdog, on August 20 called on Islamabad to immediately scrap the alleged firewall.
“The right to connectivity is a fundamental right -- not a privilege,” it said in a statement.
HRCP said that, lacking job security or alternative incomes, the slowdown of the Internet is proving detrimental for freelancers.
The watchdog said it was “unacceptable” amid a cost-of-living crisis “in a tottering economy.”
