Pakistan denies slowing internet by building firewall

Pakistan’s government has disputed claims it is building an internet firewall, causing painfully slow connections in the past few weeks.

Instead, it blamed the widespread use of secure connections or VPN (virtual private networks) for the crawling speeds.

The statement comes after business groups warned that poor connectivity could lead to a “mass exodus” of IT companies.

Shutting down the internet to crush dissent is a familiar move in regulators’ playbooks in Pakistan and other parts of Asia.

Since the riots sparked by former prime minister Imran Khan last year, the government has blocked social media platforms and throttled connection speeds as the battle for public support spilled over from the streets to the digital space.

The micro-blogging platform X has been blocked since the February elections due to “national security” concerns.

Mr Khan’s party supporters are big users of X and he is the most popular Pakistani on the platformn, with nearly 21 million followers.

But Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima said on Sunday that the state was not behind the recent slowdown.

She said her team has been “working tirelessly” with internet service providers and telcos to resolve the issue.

Ms Fatima said a “large population” had been using VPNs and “this strained the network, causing the internet to go slow”.

She said reports that the state was behind the slow connections were “completely false”.

However Ms Fatima said the government had been upgrading its systems to improve cyber security.

“It is the right of the government to [take such measures] given the cyber security attacks that this country has to go through,” she said.

Business leaders and associations have warned that slow connections could endanger Pakistan’s business potential.

The Pakistan Software Houses Association said this could cost the IT sector up to $300 million, calling it a “direct, tangible and aggressive assault on the industry’s viability”.

“A mass exodus of IT companies is not just a possibility but an imminent reality if immediate and decisive action is not taken,” it said.

Activists have filed a petition before the Islamabad High Court, calling for access to the internet to be declared a fundamental right under Pakistan’s constitution.

Additional reporting by BBC Urdu