Islamabad, Aug 19 (IANS): Pakistan government's attempt to attribute frequent internet disruptions to more usage of Virtual Private Networks (VPN) has been slammed by the country's digital rights advocates, businessmen and IT experts who have labelled it as "unconvincing reasoning".
The government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has come under a serious criticism for recent disruptions and slow internet speed across the country.
Federal Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja has blamed a surge in VPN usage for putting an undue stress on Pakistan's internet infrastructure, which she said was the reason behind slow browsing speed.
However, digital rights activists and advocates do not agree with the minister's explanation.
"The minister should first explain what has caused this sudden surge in VPN use. Is it the ban on X or more recently the WhatsApp disruption due to which media could not be transferred or downloaded on data. Meta, the partner company of WhatsApp has already clarified that there is no issue on their end and that it is a local fault. So what is causing this?" questioned digital rights advocate Farieha Aziz.
The rights advocate said that the government had first stated that it was installing a firewall to ensure cyber security but later gave other reasons for the disruption.
They maintained that similar claims were made before blocking X when the government first claimed it as a probable technical glitch and issued an official notification later, announcing the ban on X.
"We will see how this claim stands in the days to come. The government obviously does not believe in disclosure or transparency and continues to mislead and lie publicly," said Aziz.
The growing frustration amongst the masses over the government's handling of internet-related issues is quite visible now.
Experts say that Sharif will have to find a solution to the internet issues, especially at a time when his government is promoting plans to improve the country's IT infrastructure.
"The IT minister's statement gives a hint that there is some problem and that is the reason why a large number of people have been forced to use VPN," said Tanveer Nandla, an IT and digital marketing expert.
"The government is deliberately disrupting the internet on some IPs in random regions to create confusion," he added.
The expert claimed that the government was using the Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) firewall which creates a bottleneck and drops down the internet speed.
The business sector is also raising serious concerns over the frequent disruptions, stating that it has had a severe impact on the IT sector.
"Frequent internet outages, slow speed and high costs are crippling our economy and hindering the ability to compete in global markets," said Kashif Anwar, President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
The business community has warned the government of a possible mass exodus of businesses from Pakistan if the situation continues.