Pakistan blames users for slow internet as firewall rumours grow

Pakistan has been experiencing dangerously sluggish internet for weeks, but it is unclear who or what is to blame.
According to activists, the state is developing a Chinese-style internet firewall in order to have more control over the online environment.
Officials have denied these reports, blaming the slow speeds on the widespread usage of secure connections or VPN (virtual private networks).
In Pakistan and other countries of Asia, policymakers frequently shut down the internet to quell protest.

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Since the riots caused by former Prime Minister Imran Khan last year, the government has restricted social media platforms and throttled connection speeds as the struggle for popular support has shifted from the streets to the digital realm.
The microblogging site X has been restricted since the February elections for “national security” reasons.
Mr Khan’s party members are avid X users, and he is the most popular Pakistani on the site, with roughly 21 million followers.
However, Shaza Fatima, Minister of State for Information Technology, stated on Sunday that the government was not responsible for the current delay.

She stated that her staff has been “working tirelessly” with internet service providers and telecoms to remedy the issue.
Ms Fatima stated that a “large population” had been using VPNs, which “strained the network, causing the internet to go slow”.
She claimed that accusations that the state was responsible for the sluggish connections were “completely false”.
However, Ms Fatima stated that the government has been modernizing its systems to boost cyber security.
“It is the right of the government to [take such measures] given the cyber security attacks that this country has to go through,” she told the audience.

Activists, meanwhile, accuse the minister of “dodging criticism like a typical politician.”
Shahzad Ahmad, director of local internet watchdog Bytes for All, told the BBC that his organization has “ample tech evident” to demonstrate the presence of a firewall.
“It seems its purpose is to monitor online traffic… and limit dissemination [of information] in online spaces, particularly curbing political expression,” Mr. Ahmad added.
“Even if civil liberties are irrelevant, this is now about people’s livelihoods and the economy,” said Farieha Aziz, co-founder of Bolo Bhi, a local non-profit that promotes free expression online.
Business executives and groups have warned that sluggish connections may jeopardize Pakistan’s economic potential.

The deployment of the firewall has created a perfect storm of issues, with protracted internet disconnections and unpredictable VPN functioning threatening to completely disrupt corporate operations,” according to the Pakistan Software Houses Association.
The group described this as a “direct, tangible, and aggressive assault on the industry’s viability” that might cost the IT sector up to $300 million.
“A mass exodus of IT companies is not just a possibility but an imminent reality if immediate and decisive action is not taken,” the report said.
Activists have petitioned the Islamabad High Court to declare access to the internet a basic right under Pakistan’s constitution.