The Telecom Operators Association (TOA) on Monday urged the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to explain Sunday’s nationwide internet outage and expressed concern that such access censorship measures will severely undermine the government’s ICT-related growth ambitions.
In a letter sent to PTA Chairman Major General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman, TOA stated,
Unfortunately, yesterday evening, the people of Pakistan were once again unable to access several social media sites like Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Also, it appears that the internet was being throttled – leading to significant degradation in user experience across the country. This is the second such incident that has transpired in the recent past; earlier the nation experienced a similar setback on 17 December 2023,”
TOA said the telecom sector endorses and supports the government’s initiatives to internationally position Pakistan as a key ICT hub to grow our IT exports, attract foreign direct investment, and fast-track the digital journey of the country.
“In fact, we are a vital partner to the government in this endeavor. It is in this spirit that we want to register our strong concern that access censorship measures, like the ones that were undertaken last night, will severely undermine the government’s ICT-related growth ambitions and will adversely impact Pakistan’s image internationally. Therefore, in this day and age, creating impediments in access to digital social media platforms and/or websites is an attempt in vain and in the long run do more harm than good,” it argued.
Yesterday, the websites and helplines of telecom operators were inundated with customers trying to find out what was going on and requesting that the access be restored at the earliest, while the operators had no real answer to those queries further amounting to consumer outcry and dissatisfaction, stated the letter.
It letter further added, “In today’s world, digital connectivity and access are a vital lifeline and when severed, the lives of people are severely and adversely impacted, businesses are undermined, and national productivity and the country’s image are compromised and tarnished.”
The Association strongly urged the PTA to look into the events of last night and ensure that such disruptions don’t transpire in the future. It also urged the regulator to issue a detailed clarification statement on what transpired and how it plans to prevent it from reoccurring in the future.