ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has started registering virtual private networks (VPNs) to facilitate businesses and foreign missions in their “legitimate, secure and uninterrupted operations,” the country’s telecom regulator said on Friday.
Millions of Pakistanis have faced a mysterious months-long Internet slowdown that has drawn backlash from activists and business leaders who believe the state is testing a firewall to control online spaces. The Pakistani government has previously blamed a surge in the use of VPNs and damaged underwater cables for the slowdown whilst also admitting that the country was “undergoing a transition.”
The minister in-charge of the cabinet division, who is technically the prime minister, this month admitted to using a Web Monitoring System that utilizes peep packet inspection technology to detect and block VPN traffic and allows the government to monitor all Internet traffic entering or leaving Pakistan, according to a written response dated Aug. 26 to a question by Pakistani lawmaker Shahida Rehmani and seen by Arab News.
“To facilitate businesses of software houses, call centers, freelancers and foreign missions/embassies for their legitimate, secure and uninterrupted operations, VPNs are being registered under ‘one window’ operations available at PTA and PSEB (Pakistan Software Export Board) website,” the PTA said on Friday.
“It is an ongoing activity which is being continuously streamlined by PTA, MoIT (Ministry of Information Technology), PSEB and P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association). Over 20,000 IPs (Internet Protocol addresses) have been registered for VPNs since 2020.”
The Internet challenges come as Pakistan’s military — the country’s most powerful institution — says it is battling so-called “digital terrorism.” Independent 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.
But State Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja has repeatedly said the government was not behind the Internet slowdown, blaming it on a surge in VPN use. She has also rejected that the planned firewall will be used for censorship purposes.
Pakistan is banking on its nascent but growing IT 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, chairman of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, said in a statement this week.
Pakistan starts VPN registration amid slow Internet speeds
https://arab.news/phnqd
Pakistan starts VPN registration amid slow Internet speeds
- Millions of Pakistanis have faced a mysterious months-long Internet slowdown that has drawn backlash from activists and business leaders
- The government has previously blamed a surge in the use of VPNs and damaged underwater cables for the slowdown in the South Asian country
Pakistan demands ‘equitable’ climate finance for vulnerable states at UN forum
- Pakistan repeatedly suffers from deadly climate disasters, including floods this year that killed over 1,000 people during monsoon
- Pakistan minister stresses role of international cooperation, private sector engagement for environmental sustainability
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Dr. Musadik Malik on Saturday called for an “equitable, accessible” climate finance for vulnerable nations, saying that climate action must be treated as a shared global responsibility.
Malik was speaking at a high-level conference titled: “The Bottom Line: Why Tackling Environmental Degradation Is Critical to the Future of the Global Financial System” held on the sidelines of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in Nairobi.
Pakistan has suffered repeated climate-inducted disasters frequently over the years. Devastating floods this year claimed over 1,000 lives in the country during the monsoon season. Super floods in 2022 cost the country an estimated $30 billion in damages.
“Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr. Musadik Malik has stressed that environmental degradation poses systemic risks to the global financial system and called for more accessible and equitable climate finance for vulnerable countries,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
Participants highlighted the importance of policy coherence, effective regulatory frameworks and whole-of-government approaches to create enabling conditions for sustainable finance.
Pakistan has been pushing for easy access and terms of financing for developing countries that suffer from climate change effects over the past few years at global events such as the Conference of the Parties (COP) and World Economic Forum.
Dr. Malik noted that countries contributing least to global emissions were among those facing the “most severe” impacts of climate change.
Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent to the total greenhouse gas emissions.
“The minister underscored the role of international cooperation and responsible private sector engagement in ensuring that financial stability and environmental sustainability reinforce each other,” the APP report said.
The summit brought together global leaders, policymakers, financial regulators and experts to discuss how governments are steering private finance toward pathways that strengthen economic and financial stability.
Discussions also focused on mobilizing private capital for high-impact sectors and integrating environmental risks into financial decision-making processes.
