KARACHI: Gathered outside a restaurant in Pakistan’s Karachi this week, a group of delivery drivers were staring at their phones struggling with poor Internet connectivity and worrying about their income taking a hit.
One delivery driver, Mohammad Tariq, said he and his colleagues “were struggling to start our shift because there is no Internet,” adding that it has caused them to lose up to 70 percent of their income.
The prolonged Internet slowdown in Pakistan is disrupting services and affecting the livelihoods of many workers who depend on consistent connectivity.
Local media has attributed the sluggish connection to the implementation of a national firewall by the government to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms.
Islamabad denies the use of firewall for censorship and instead blames the disruption on a fault in the submarine cable network.
Akhlaq Ahmed, the director of Internet and data services provider ‘Connect Communications’, complained about the government’s lack of communication on the issue and said his customers were ‘worried’ about the state of their Internet connectivity.
Pakistan’s economy could lose up to $300 million due to Internet disruptions caused by imposition of a national firewall, the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) said in a press release last week.
The director of Islamabad-based digital rights watchdog ‘Bolo Bhi’ reiterated the lack of transparency from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and urged the government to “immediately roll back” the alleged national firewall that he said “violates the right to freedom of expression and right to privacy.”
Pakistan has already blocked access to social media platform X since the February elections in which jailed former prime minister Imran Khan won the most seats despite a crackdown and ban on his party.
The government has said the blocking was to stop anti state activities and a failure by X to adhere to local Pakistani laws. Rights activists say the blocking of X is designed to stifle critical voices and democratic accountability in the country.
