ISLAMABAD: The chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Major General (r) Hafeezur Rehman, said this week the body would facilitate the “positive use” of virtual private network (VPN) services even as the government was determined to move ahead with plans to block unregistered VPNs by the end of this month.
The PTA says businesses and freelancers can continue to legally use VPNs by registering with the government, but unregistered VPNs will be blocked in Pakistan after Nov. 30. Authorities say the measures are meant to deter militants and other suspects who use VPNs to conceal their identities and spread “anti-state propaganda” and promote “blasphemous” or other illegal content online.
Digital rights activists say the move is part of government attempts to block vital tools that allow users to bypass restrictions amid a wave of digital crackdowns, particularly since the use of VPNs has sharply risen in Pakistan since February this year when the government banned X.
The federal government is also moving to implement a nationwide firewall to block malicious content, protect government networks from attacks, and allow the government to identify IP addresses associated with what it calls “anti-state propaganda” and terror attacks. Internet speeds have dropped by up to 30-40 percent over the past few months due to the firewall, according to the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP).
“We don’t say to block the VPNs but to regulate the VPNs,” the PTA chairman said on Thursday during an address at Youth Safety Summit Pakistan, jointly organized by TikTok and the PTA.
“If somebody needs VPN for the business purposes, for some positive use, nobody will stop him, let me reassure you, we will facilitate him.”
Rehman said the authority issued its first letter for VPN registration back in December 2010.
“It is now 15 years,” he said. “We have been pushing people to please register with us so that their business is not disturbed.”
The PTA chairman urged TikTok and other social media platforms to use artificial intelligence tools to “block anti-state and blasphemous content.”
“This summit marks a significant step in our mission to secure a safe and inclusive digital environment for Pakistan’s youth,” Rehman said. “PTA remains steadfast in its efforts to implement innovative measures that protect children online and promote a digitally responsible society.”
Emir Gelen, the director of government relations and public policy at TikTok for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Pakistan and South Asia, reaffirmed TikTok’s commitment to online safety at the summit.
“At TikTok, we are committed to ensuring the online safety and well-being of our users, particularly children and youth,” he said.
“We believe that this summit marks an important step toward creating a safer online environment in Pakistan … We’re dedicated to promoting digital literacy and online safety through our initiatives, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with the PTA to achieve this goal.”
In August, the Pakistan Business Council (PBC) warned that frequent Internet disruptions and low speeds caused by poor implementation of the national firewall had led many multinational companies to consider relocating their offices out of Pakistan, with some having “already done so.” The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), the country’s top representative body for the IT sector, warned this week Internet slowdowns and the restriction of VPN services could lead to financial losses and closures and increase operational costs for the industry by up to $150 million annually.
Pakistan’s IT and ITeS exports have been growing at an average of 30 percent per year, and are on the way to achieve over $15 billion in the next 5 years, according to industry data, provided the government ensures continuity in export, fiscal, financial, SME, infrastructure and IT policies.
“If the VPNs are blocked, most of IT companies, Call Centers, BPO [business process outsourcing] organizations of Pakistan will lose all the major Fortune 500 clients, as well as others – as data protection and cybersecurity are of paramount importance to our clients, and connecting to client systems through VPN is a global norm and standard, and is a basic requirement and expectation of clients around the world,” P@SHA Chairman Sajjad Mustafa Syed said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“Additionally, no international company of any size tolerates any intrusion into their security protocols by any private or public institution.”
Pakistan telecom regulator affirms support for ‘positive use’ as VPN ban deadline looms
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Pakistan telecom regulator affirms support for ‘positive use’ as VPN ban deadline looms
- PTA says businesses can use VPNs by registering with government but unregistered VPNs will be blocked after Nov. 30
- Rights activists say government wants to block vital tools that allow users to bypass restrictions amid digital crackdown
Pakistan says will present evidence of Indian involvement in Balochistan school bus bombing at UN
- India has denied any involvement in the attack that killed six people, including four school children
- Pakistan’s UN envoy says many countries have expressed concern over India’s suspension of IWT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will raise the recent militant attack on a school bus in the southwestern Balochistan province at the United Nations (UN) and present evidence of Indian involvement to the international community, said the country’s top diplomat at the UN on Thursday.
At least six people, including four children, were killed on Wednesday when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted a school bus en route to an army-run school in the Khuzdar district.
Balochistan has witnessed a separatist insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-casualty attacks on civilians and security forces.
Pakistan says such militant outfits are backed by India, though New Delhi denies the claim. The Indian administration also distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bus bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan’s “internal failures.”
“This was a heinous terrorist act directed against children, against students, [which is] totally unacceptable and condemnable,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told Arab News in an interview.
“Pakistan is going to share the evidence [of Indian involvement] with the members of the international community, including in the UN,” he continued.
Ahmad said Pakistan had also provided evidence of India’s involvement in “terrorist activities” in the past, adding it was going to do it again.
He maintained New Delhi had been committing “terrorism” in Pakistan both directly and through its proxies.
He informed Pakistan would present a dossier to the UN and its member states to highlight a clear pattern of Indian involvement in militant violence aimed at destabilizing Pakistan, particularly Balochistan.
“The dossier will contain information about who is involved [and] what are the linkages,” he added.
The envoy said Pakistan had, in the past, proposed the listing of Indian nationals involved in orchestrating violent activities in Pakistan.
“Some of the members of the Security Council … did not act responsibly and in fact they block such listings,” he informed, adding it was the collective responsibility of all UN members to assess the situation objectively and not protect India unnecessarily.
Asked about India’s unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the ambassador said Pakistan had already raised the issue at the Security Council, as the move was highly escalatory and posed an existential threat to the country.
“We discussed this … during the meeting of the Security Council that was held on 5th of May, where a number of members of the Security Council expressed concern because it is clearly viewed by the international community as a violation of international law,” he said.
Pakistan defends nuclear safety after former US national security adviser warns of risks
- John Bolton tells an Indian media outlet Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into the wrong hands
- Pakistan says the world should be more concerned about India’s ‘extremists’ controlling nuclear arms
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it was fully confident in the safety and security of its nuclear weapons after former US National Security Adviser John Bolton expressed concern they could fall “into the hands of terrorists or irresponsible commanders” in an interview with an Indian media outlet.
Bolton’s remarks came days after Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called for Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal to be placed under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing concerns about their safety.
Responding to a media query, foreign office spokesperson Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan had a robust nuclear command and control system and a comprehensive security regime in place.
“It is ironic that John Bolton’s remarks were prompted by a statement from Rajnath Singh, a leader affiliated with a Hindu extremist organization, known for repeatedly issuing threats of aggression against Pakistan,” he said.
“In reality, the international community should be more concerned about India’s nuclear arsenal being controlled by individuals like Rajnath Singh, who harbor well-documented hostility toward Pakistan and Muslims, and exhibit dangerous delusions of grandeur,” he added.
Khan further warned of broader risks stemming from India’s domestic political trends.
“The escalating radicalization of India’s political landscape, media and segments of its society raises legitimate nuclear security concerns,” he said.
“These concerns are further exacerbated by the persistence of a nuclear black market in India, highlighting serious deficiencies in its nuclear security framework, as evidenced by recurring incidents of theft and illicit trafficking of sensitive nuclear materials.”
The renewed war of words between the two countries follows a sharp military escalation earlier this month.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10, but diplomatic tensions have remained high, with both sides continuing to trade barbs over militant violence, water sharing and nuclear security.
Pakistan says open to water talks with India but insists Indus treaty remains binding
- Pakistan’s attorney general says India recently wrote to propose changes to the Indus Waters Treaty
- He says Islamabad considers the treaty fully operational as Modi threatens to block water flows
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is willing to discuss water-sharing concerns with India, the country’s top legal official said on Thursday, though he maintained the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty remained legally binding on both countries and could not be unilaterally suspended.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan shared his country’s perspective with Reuters over the issue in an exclusive interview after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reiterated his threat to block water flows to Pakistan.
India has said it would suspend the treaty as part of a series of measures following a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies the allegation and says any attempt to disrupt water access would be a breach of international obligations with severe consequences.
“Pakistan is willing to talk about or to address anything, any concerns they [the Indians] may have,” Awan said during the interview.
He said India had written to Pakistan in recent weeks, citing population growth and clean energy needs as reasons to modify the treaty. But he said any discussions would have to take part under the terms of the treaty.
Islamabad maintains the treaty is legally binding and no party can unilaterally suspend it, Awan said.
“As far as Pakistan is concerned, the treaty is very much operational, functional, and anything which India does, it does at its own cost and peril as far as the building of any hydroelectric power projects are concerned,” he added.
Modi on Thursday ramped up pressure during a public event in Rajasthan, a state bordering Pakistan, saying: “Pakistan will not get water from rivers over which India has rights.”
“Pakistan will have to pay a heavy price for every terrorist attack … Pakistan’s army will pay it. Pakistan’s economy will pay it,” he added, referencing the April 22 attack that left 26 people dead.
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, allocates water from six rivers shared by the two countries. It guarantees Pakistan access to waters that irrigate nearly 80 percent of its farmland.
Awan said Pakistan would oppose any attempts to alter the treaty outside of its legal framework.
The nuclear-armed neighbors had earlier engaged in their most intense military confrontation in decades before agreeing to a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer in part. India accuses Pakistan of supporting Kashmiri separatists in the disputed region, a charge Pakistan denies.
Tensions further escalated on Wednesday between the two countries when a suicide bombing targeted a school bus in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing six people, including four children.
Pakistan’s government and military accused “Indian terror proxies” of orchestrating the attack, an allegation India rejected.
In the fallout from the April attack, both countries have halted trade, closed borders and suspended most visa processing, deepening diplomatic and economic strains.
Pakistan PM says Hong Kong conglomerate key to introducing advanced tech at Karachi Port
- Hutchison Ports announced in March to invest $1 billion to uplift Pakistan’s port infrastructure
- The top conglomerate official Eric Ip met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss future plans
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday applauded a Hong Kong-based conglomerate for playing an important role in modernizing Karachi Port by introducing advanced technologies like modern scanners for customs assessments, said an official statement.
The statement was issued after a Hutchison Ports delegation, led by Chief Executive Officer Eric Ip, met Sharif, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry and Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema to discuss the company’s operations in Pakistan.
Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings Limited, has been operating two terminals in Pakistan, contributing over $804 million in government revenues and providing employment to 5,000 individuals.
“Modern technology is being introduced at ports in Pakistan, with Hutchison Ports playing an important role,” the PM Office quoted Sharif as saying. “Hutchison Ports’ services will prove valuable in establishing modern scanners for customs assessment at domestic ports.”
Sharif said the investments made by Hutchison Ports in Pakistan for three decades were “a reflection of confidence in Pakistani economic policies.”
On the occasion, the CEO of Hutchison Ports said the company was taking steps to introduce modern technology at Karachi Port and expressed a desire to invest more in Pakistan in the future.
In March, Hutchison Ports said it planned to invest $1 billion in Pakistan to improve its port infrastructure. Later the same month, Pakistan’s maritime affairs minister and a Hutchison Ports official discussed the “swift execution” of the proposed investment.
Pakistan has been working to boost foreign trade while seeking international partnerships to expand maritime activities.
On Jan. 22, South Korean shipping company HMM launched the India North Europe Express (INX) weekly shipping service in Pakistan, providing the country with direct access to Europe.
Earlier, Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, in collaboration with Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation, launched a feeder service to transport shipping containers from Dubai to Karachi.
Pakistani officials and DP World have also finalized terms for a freight corridor project from Karachi Port to the Pipri Marshalling Yard in southern Pakistan.
Pakistan presents baton of field marshal to its army chief after India standoff
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif applauds the top army commander for his ‘unflinching courage’
- He says Field Marshal Asim Munir led the armed forces to ‘outstanding victory’ against India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top political leadership on Thursday conferred the baton of field marshal on army chief Syed Asim Munir at a ceremony in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praising him for his “unflinching courage” during the recent military standoff with India.
Munir was elevated to the five-star rank during a federal cabinet meeting earlier this week. The rank of field marshal is the highest military designation in Pakistan and has only been awarded once before to former President Ayub Khan.
“Today we have gathered here to pay our tribute to Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff, for his admirable leadership, unflinching courage and outstanding service to our motherland as we have just conferred upon him the most prestigious and revered military title of Field Marshal,” the prime minister said during the ceremony.
“His command during Operation Bunyanum Marsoos and his resolute courage in safeguarding Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity not only thwarted the nefarious designs of the adversary but rewrote the history of warfare that shall continue to inspire generations to come,” he added.
Sharif credited Munir with leading Pakistan’s armed forces to what he described as an “outstanding victory” against an enemy “caught in its own web of arrogance and hubris.”
Referring to Pakistan’s military retaliation earlier this month after Indian strikes, Sharif said the army responded with speed and precision, pushing the conflict deep into enemy territory.
“In the annals of regional conflict and diplomacy, what transpired during those challenging days will not only be remembered as an outstanding military victory but also as a moral and diplomatic triumph,” Sharif said.
He also highlighted the close coordination between Pakistan’s political and military leadership in confronting the twin challenges of economic instability and foreign-backed terrorism, calling the synergy “unprecedented.”
“Today I join the entire nation in acknowledging the meritorious services of a son of the soil who embodies the finest traditions of the Pakistan Army and whose services shall remain etched in the annals of our national history,” he added.
