ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) has decried the government’s attitude and lack of consultation on the continuous internet disruptions which have had a negative impact on both communications and businesses across Pakistan.
“We want to work with them [government]. What such need arose that we have been thrown out of the loop,” P@SHA Senior Vice Chairman Ali Ihsan said while speaking to private TV Channel on Monday.
Millions of people and businesses across Pakistan face either slow internet speed or restricted access which the experts link to enhanced security and surveillance owing to the installation of a firewall to control unwanted content on social media.
Meanwhile, the government is also preparing to stop the “misuse” of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). The government has already rebuked allegations that it was responsible for the internet slowdown.
“I can swear that the government of Pakistan did not block the internet or slow it down [….] Turning VPN on slows down the phone,” State Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima said during a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday.
The P@SHA official said that no issue about the internet disruptions had arisen in the past 10 years.
“P@SHA and the PTA had previously held discussions on the ban on VPN where we advised them how businesses can be protected […] if we were to be taken into confidence this time we would’ve told them to whitelist IT businesses and not subject them to internet firewall as our IPs are tracked via identification records,” Ihsan said.
He added that P@SHA estimates a loss of $300 million loss in light of existing complaints by the businesses. Mentioning the internet slowdown’s effect on businesses, Ihsan said that leading Information Technology companies have complained that 40 percent of their BPO services have been affected.
The Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA) calling on the government to address the internet issue, said that there had been an internet slowdown and disruptions for the past three weeks.
