ISLAMABAD: Amnesty International on Monday urged Pakistani authorities to be transparent about Internet disruptions over the past few weeks amid allegations that the installation of a national firewall was behind the slowdown.
The problem has affected millions of Pakistani users, disrupting businesses and drawing nationwide complaints, while authorities have said a faulty undersea Internet cable had caused slower Internet connections.
Nearly half of the country’s population has faced problems in using and accessing social media platforms, including the popular WhatsApp. Pakistan has 110 million Internet users, and up to 40 percent slower Internet speeds have affected nearly half the country’s 241 million population.
“Amnesty International urges the Pakistani authorities to be transparent about the cause of these Internet disruptions and ensure that they do not deploy monitoring and surveillance systems that are unnecessary, disproportionate, and in violation of international human rights law,” Amnesty International Technologist Jurre Van Bergen said on Monday.
He said the “opacity” of Pakistani authorities regarding the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies that could block content, slow down and control Internet speeds was an “alarming concern.”
“Time and again, the use of such technologies, including national firewalls, has proven to be incompatible with human rights,” Bergen added.
“These pervasive tools undermine online freedom of expression and access to information. The Internet is critical for the enjoyment of the public’s right to be informed, citizen’s self-expression, e-commerce and the digital economy.”
Pakistan’s IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja has repeatedly rejected reports that the government was responsible for slowing or shutting down the Internet, attributing it instead to the widespread use of virtual private networks (VPNs) amid a ban on social media platform X since February. Pakistan Telecommunications Authority Chairman Hafeezur Rehman has attributed the Internet slowdown to a damaged submarine cable that would be repaired by tomorrow, Tuesday.
A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court against the nationwide Internet shutdowns, which has sought responses from the government and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority by today, Monday.
