Internet breakdown in Pakistan, net speed reduced due to fault in submarine cable

Pakistan is facing the problem of internet breakdown these days. Major General (Retired) Hafizur Rehman, head of the telecom monitoring agency, recently blamed submarine cables for the slow internet speed across the country, and rejected claims that the internet speed was slow due to a firewall installed by the government.

There have been allegations for several weeks that internet speeds have been slowed down due to a firewall implemented by the government to prevent criticism of opposition groups, especially Imran Khan’s PTI party. The issue was raised during a meeting of the National Assembly’s standing committee on IT, where Rehman faced scrutiny from lawmakers over the fluctuations in internet speeds.

Upgrading the web management system

Rehman said the problem was linked to a damaged submarine cable, the repair of which was expected to be completed by August 28. He clarified that the government was upgrading its web management system, not implementing a firewall, and stressed that such an upgrade should not slow down internet speeds.

Loss of 300 million

The head of the institute also said that the glitch has caused a loss of 300 million Pakistani rupees to the country’s telecom sector. PTI chief Gauhar Ali Khan asked questions about the ban on social media platform X, but Rehman did not give any other information on the matter. He confirmed that VPNs are not being blocked in Pakistan.

Earlier, PTI, the business community and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had expressed concern that the government’s surveillance efforts through firewalls had slowed down internet speeds, affecting digital services and causing economic losses. IT Minister Shaja Fatima Khawaja had earlier said that the government was enhancing its web management system for cyber security, but claims of deliberate internet throttling were baseless.