As the digital woes continue unabated, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has disclosed that internet shutdowns across the country are carried out on government directives, sparking a heated debate in the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology.
The revelation raised questions among the panel members about the legality and rationale behind disrupting digital access. The committee was told that Pakistan ranked 97th globally in internet speed.
The session, chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, expressed serious concerns over the ongoing issue of slow internet speeds across Pakistan and the legal ambiguities surrounding internet shutdowns and content blocking.
PTA Chairman Retired Major General Hafeezur Rehman faced tough questioning from panel members over widespread complaints about internet slowdowns across the country.
The PTA chairman disclosed that the authority received an average of 500 complaints daily about objectionable content on social media. "We request social media platforms to block such content, and 80% of the material is successfully removed," he explained.
During a heated exchange, Senator Kamran Murtaza of JUI-F questioned the legal basis for shutting down the internet in specific areas, asking, "Which law permits this? How can you disrupt internet services without legal grounds?"
In response, the PTA chairman clarified that the authority did not make such decisions independently. "The government instructs us to impose internet shutdowns. If this is illegal, why has the government been directing us to do so for the past nine years?" he asked.
"I can provide exact dates and times when these shutdowns occurred."
The committee members also raised concerns about the practice of shutting down internet services, particularly after receiving directives from the interior ministry.
However, the PTA chairman responded that such shutdowns had been a recurring issue since 2016 but were recently deemed unlawful, and added that the interior ministry must provide final legal opinions on the matter.
The session also addressed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), with Murtaza challenging its provisions. The IT ministry's legal representative conceded that the act does not explicitly allow internet blackouts in specific areas.
However, the PTA argued that regulations empower the interior ministry to issue such directives. However, he noted the laws did not specify the blocking of internet services in any particular geographic area.
Senator Murtaza criticised the impact of shutdowns, saying, "This is equivalent to pushing people into ignorance for political purposes. Education, business and library access are all disrupted when the internet is blocked."
The senator raised concerns about the legality of ongoing shutdowns, if it was not clear in the law and added that the parliamentary committee should be provided a clear legal framework for such actions.
The ministry's special secretary explained that "to block all online content in an area, internet services must be entirely suspended".
The committee demanded explanations from relevant ministries.
PTA Chairman Hafeezur Rehman also touched upon the issue of VPN regulation, revealing that only two companies had applied for VPN service licenses so far. He added that VPN services remain largely operational despite previous shutdown directives.
He clarified that he had not authorised the closure of VPN services.
PTI's Senator Mohammad Humayun Mohmand pointed out that the rules only mentioned blocking content, not entire networks.
At this, Rehman countered, asking whether actions taken on Supreme Court or high court orders, including app shutdowns and internet restrictions, were also illegal.
As the debate intensified, the PTA chairman said: "You've all been part of the government at some point. These shutdowns were implemented under official directives."
The committee was informed that increasing fiberisation was the only solution to improve internet speed, but it is the responsibility of the government to ensure its expansion.
The PTA chairman highlighted that slow internet speeds would persist unless significant improvements were made in the country's digital infrastructure.
The committee members later called for detailed legal opinions from the Ministries of Law and Interior, stressing the need for clarity on the overlap between rules and the broader PECA framework.
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