KARACHI: Pakistan authorities blamed a mystery months-long Internet slowdown that has drawn backlash from activists and business leaders on damaged underwater cables.
Digital rights experts believe the state is testing a firewall — a security system that monitors network traffic but can also be used to control online spaces.
The government has previously blamed a surge in VPN use for the slowdown whilst also admitting that the country was “undergoing a transition.”
“The ongoing Internet slowdown across the country is mainly due to (a) fault in two of the seven international submarine cables connecting Pakistan internationally,” Pakistan’s Telecommunications Authority said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the fault would be repaired by early October.
Internet networks have been up to 40 percent slower than normal since July, according to one IT association, while WhatsApp and VPN connections are severely disrupted.
The government and PTA for weeks refused to comment on the slowdown.
At the start of the month, defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the country was “undergoing a transition.”
He added that “there will be some controls to prevent threatening and defamatory content against the state and individuals.”
IT minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja later denied that the government was behind the Internet slowdown, blaming it on a surge in VPN use.
It comes as Pakistan’s military — the country’s most powerful institution — says it is battling so-called “digital terrorism.”
Analysts say the main target of the digital disruption is the party of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan, still wildly popular and boosted by a young, tech-savvy voter base.
Global rights watchdog Amnesty International urged Pakistan authorities to be transparent.
“The opacity of the Pakistani authorities regarding the use of monitoring and surveillance technologies that block content, slow down and control Internet speeds is an alarming concern,” said the organization’s technology expert Jurre Van Bergen.
Pakistan is banking on its nascent but growing Information Technology industry to increase its exports and generate critical foreign exchange revenue for a cash-strapped country.
“Without immediate and decisive action, the country risks deeper economic fallout and a prolonged digital divide,” Shahzad Arshad, the chairman of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, said in a statement.
Pakistan blames mystery Internet slowdown on underwater cables
https://arab.news/2pfzp
Pakistan blames mystery Internet slowdown on underwater cables
- Government previously blamed a surge in VPN use for the slowdown whilst also admitting that the country was ‘undergoing a transition’
- Digital rights experts believe the state is testing a firewall that monitors network traffic but can also be used to control online spaces
Government says Pakistan’s IT exports hit record monthly high in December
- Finance adviser says IT exports crossed $400 million for first time in a month
- Pakistan aims to double exports to $60 billion in four years, with IT a key driver
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information technology exports climbed to a record $437 million in December, crossing the $400 million mark for the first time on a monthly basis, the government’s finance adviser Khurram Schehzad said in a social media post on Monday.
The surge underscores the growing role of the tech sector as Pakistan seeks to boost exports while emerging from a prolonged economic crisis that drained foreign exchange reserves, widened balance-of-payments pressures and weakened the currency.
The government is now aiming for export-led growth as part of broader structural reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
“December 2025 exports reached $437 million — crossing $400 million in a month for the first time ever,” Schehzad said in a post on X, adding that this represented 23 percent month-on-month growth from November and 26 percent year-on-year growth compared with December 2024.
For the first half of the current fiscal year, IT exports reached $2.24 billion, up 20 percent from a year earlier, making the sector the largest and most consistent contributor within services exports, he said.
Pakistan has been under pressure to sharply lift exports as it works to stabilize its economy.
Earlier this month, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the country must double its exports to $60 billion within four years or risk returning to the IMF.
Pakistan’s IT exports have been on a steady upward trajectory in recent years. They reached a record $3.8 billion in the 2024–25 financial year, according to official data.
The momentum has carried into the current fiscal year, with IT exports posting 19 percent year-on-year growth during the first five months from July to November.
Exports during the period stood at $1.8 billion, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The government has said it sees the technology sector as a key driver of foreign exchange earnings and job creation as Pakistan seeks to lock in recent macroeconomic gains and attract new investment.
