Senate sub-committee to look into internet woes

Poor internet connectivity impacting Gwadar Port functions

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs has constituted a sub-committee to look into the matters pertaining to rules and fiber internet connectivity issues of the Gwadar Port.

The sub-committee, to be convened by Senator Kauda Babar, would work out a plan to overcome connectivity problems at the Gwadar Port as the issue is affecting operations.

The committee, with Senator Nuzhat Sadiq in chair, was informed that the port has immense potential to handle transit cargo but there was no such directorate established in the past to make the port fully functional.

The body was apprised that the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) had failed to provide uninterrupted fiber internet connectivity and the necessary infrastructure for electronic data interchange (EDI) messaging.

4G services launched in Gwadar

An official of the maritime ministry informed the committee that the issue had been taken up with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication. They issued directives to PTCL to urgently resolve the internet bandwidth and optic fiber connectivity issues at Gwadar Port, the official added.

The committee was also told about framing of transshipment rules for foreign destinations and customs rules for coastal trade.

During a briefing on the shipping sector, the committee was informed that Pakistan had only three ships in the private sector at the time of independence and how the sector had grown over the years along with expansion like inclusion of the private sector.

The committee appreciated the steps being taken for bringing foreign investors into the shipping industry and reforming the public sector shipping industry with new initiatives.

Senators Shamim Afridi, Samina Saeed, Naseebullah Bazai, Sitara Ayaz, Muhammad Akram, Maritime Affairs Secretary Rizwan Ahmed, Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Naseer Khan Kashani and officials from the ministry attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2019.