IHC dissatisfied with report on internet disruption

PTA tells court that a third submarine cable was cut, in addition to the two previously reported.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) expressed its dissatisfaction with a government report which attributed the disruptions in internet services to the submarine cable fault, and summoned the member technical of the information technology ministry in person on September 3.

IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq remarked that the people were confused because of the contradictory statements from different ministers about the internet disruptions, and now the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that submarine cable cut caused the issue.

During the hearing, the deputy attorney general explained that there was no issue because of any installation. Terming the government's response unsatisfactory, the court summoned the technical member of the IT Ministry on September 3 in a personal capacity.

The court ordered the deputy attorney general to submit a detailed report on the causes of the ongoing internet issue. The chief justice said that if there was any issue of national security, the report could be filed for the review of the court only. "The court wants to know what is going on," the chief justice said.

Earlier, the counsel for the PTA told the court that it had found that two submarine cables were cut but now it emerged that a third cable had also been cut. However, the lawyer for the petitioner, Iman Mazari Advocate disputed the report.

Mazari said that the internet was working but functions of WhatsApp were affected, as audio and video messages were not passing smoothly. She added that the PTA Chairman had himself said that the web operating system was being upgraded.