ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s State Minister for Information Technology (IT) Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on Thursday her ministry was addressing complaints of “slow” Internet speed in the country, which a union of freelancers said had significantly hit the earnings of over 2.3 million people.
Internet speed has dropped by 30-40 percent over the past few weeks, the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP) said this week, as the government moves 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.” Khawaja has repeatedly responded to critics saying the government did not plan to use firewalls as a form of censorship.
A firewall is a network security device that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security parameters. It acts as a barrier whose main purpose is to allow non-threatening traffic in and to keep dangerous and undesirable traffic out.
Pakistan’s Internet regulatory body, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has the technological ability to block unwanted content and prevent the access of local users to specific websites but the installation of the firewall is expected to enhance its capability to filter and monitor Internet content on a wider scale.
“There have been complaints of slow Internet and I have asked the PTA to provide data of the last two weeks to look at the data traffic to know the speed issue,” Khawaja told reporters after attending a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications.
“Internet should never be slow as the digital economy and digital governance depend on good Internet speed.”
When asked about the installation of a firewall, the minister said it was a cybersecurity matter and that countries around the world use the technology. Countries like China, Iran, Turkiye, and Russia have employed national firewalls for year to regulate Internet content, saying they aim to pinpoint and restrict sources of propaganda content
“Previously, the government was managing the web system but with increasing international cybersecurity attacks on the country, there is a growing need for the state to strengthen its ability to prevent these attacks,” Khawaja added.
Aisha Humera Chaudhry, the secretary of the IT and telecommunications ministry, explained during the standing committee meeting that broadband connections were not hit by low Internet speed but mobile users were facing Internet disruptions on their cellphones.
“The PTA is assessing the issue, and the ministry will be in a better position to provide an overview once the assessment is completed in two weeks,” she was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the senate secretariat after the meeting.
Ali Ihsan, Senior Vice Chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), warned against the consequences of the firewall.
“The booming IT industry is facing a disaster, grappling with unprecedented operational disruptions that threaten the very foundation of Pakistan’s burgeoned tech sector,” he said in a statement, adding that prolonged Internet disruptions and erratic VPN performances were threatening a complete meltdown of business operations.
“These disruptions are not mere inconveniences but a direct, tangible, and aggressive assault on the industry’s viability – inflicting devastating financial losses estimated to reach $300 million, which can further increase exponentially,” he said.
The government’s ambiguity surrounding the firewall’s design and objectives had ignited distrust of Pakistani freelancers among their global clients, Ihsan said:
“They fear their proprietary data and privacy will be compromised, which only serves to erode the hard-earned trust and confidence in Pakistan’s IT capabilities.”
‘LOSING MORE AND MORE BUSINESS’
There are 19 million freelancers globally, out of which Pakistan has 2.37 million active freelancers. The South Asian nation ranks among the top four countries that offer freelance services, with key global platforms for freelance work being Upwork, Fiverr, and PeoplePerHour.
According to data from the central bank. Pakistani freelancers earned $397.3 million in foreign remittances during the fiscal year 2021-22. This amount is likely underreported as much of freelance income is received as home remittances.
“The businesses of over 2.3 million freelancers are suffering due to the slow Internet services,” Tufail Ahmed Khan, president of the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA), told Arab News.
“Not only freelancers but IT companies and e-commerce businesses are also affected by the significant degradation in Internet speed.”
He said Pakistani freelancers had earned over $350 million in 2023 while slow Internet speed was now making it difficult to complete projects online.
Khan said the most concerning aspect was that the government had given no timeline on when the issue would be resolved, with the uncertainty could damage Pakistani freelancers’ reputation among clients.
This week workers on Fiverr said the freelancing platform had made several accounts in Pakistan “unavailable” due to possible “Internet disruptions.”
“We are losing more and more business every day,” Khan lamented.
Asad Baig, executive director of the digital rights non-profit Media Matters for Democracy, said authorities were enacting laws to control the Internet rather than leveraging it for progress.
“They [government] should realize that the Internet is not only social media platforms, it is far beyond this,” Baig told Arab News. “And it is essential to give priority to this concept that in digital policymaking it is the only way to progress.”
Pakistani freelancers agreed, saying their earnings and reputation were both taking a hit due to the slow Internet speed.
Usman Mehmood, a freelance video animator since 2014, said slow Internet was disrupting timely communication with clients and completion of work.
“In our work time delivery of the project is essential, otherwise the client will move to [freelancers in] other countries, which is happening now,” Mehmood told Arab News. “It should be fixed at the earliest to save all the freelancer’s work.”
Kausar Aziz, who had worked as a freelance digital marketer since 2020, said slow Internet had hit her reputation and wasted money her clients had spent on advertising due to low visibility.
“I used to earn around Rs200,000 ($717) per month,” Aziz told Arab News, “but business is almost negligible for over a week.”
Pakistan minister says addressing ‘slow’ Internet speed as over 2.3 million freelancers, IT sector hit
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Pakistan minister says addressing ‘slow’ Internet speed as over 2.3 million freelancers, IT sector hit
- Freelancers complain of slow speeds as government moves to implement firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media
- Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) estimates financial losses due to slow Internet speed could be as high as $300 million
Threat of war with India empties scenic Pakistani valley of summer tourists
- Gunmen last week killed 26 people in the Indian-administered Kashmir’s resort town of Pahalgam
- The attack has fueled tensions after India blamed Pakistan for the attack, Islamabad denies charge
MUZAFFARABAD: Neelum Valley in northern Pakistan attracts some 300,000 tourists each summer who marvel at its natural beauty. But the threat of war with nearby India has emptied its hotels.
Gunmen last week killed 26 people in the Indian-administered Kashmir’s resort town of Pahalgam, fueling tensions between the nuclear-armed nations after India blamed Pakistan for the attack, a charge Pakistan denies.
Neelum Valley is less than 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, making it vulnerable to any military activity.
Hotel owner Rafaqat Hussain said Thursday the crisis has hit the tourism industry hard.
“Most tourists have left and returned to their cities because there is a risk of war,” he said.
Authorities in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir temporarily shuttered dozens of tourist resorts following the attack as a precaution.
No such order has come from Pakistani authorities. Bazaars in the Pakistani border town of Chakothi were open for business, although people were concerned.
“First of all, our prayer is for peace, as war always affects civilians first,” shop owner Bashir Mughal told The Associated Press, saying he would fight alongside the army in the event of conflict.
Pakistan used to help residents build bunkers near their homes during periods of intense cross-border firing. But the population has grown and some homes lack shelters.
“Local casualties could be devastating if war breaks out,” Mughal warned.
Saiqa Naseer, also from Chakothi, shuddered at the childhood memories of frequent firing across the border.
“Now, as a mother, I find myself facing the same fears,” she said.
She remembered Indian shells striking the picturesque valley when the two countries came close to war in 2019. She has a bunker at her home.
“If war comes, we will stay here. We won’t run away,” she said.
Rising Jhelum River threatens people in Azad Kashmir
- The development comes after India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, cutting off vital flood data
- Locals face growing uncertainty and increased risk, say they received no prior notification of water release
MUZAFFARABAD, Azad Kashmir: Rising water levels along the Jhelum River in Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir have caused concern for thousands of residents living downstream.
With India releasing more water than usual into the river and the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty cutting off vital flood data, locals face growing uncertainty and increased risk.
Along the riverbank, 72-year-old Rafiq Hussain and his family of six have been watching floodwaters creep within meters of their home.
“When India released the water, the river rose by eight to ten feet. There’s a lot of fear and uncertainty, especially after hearing reports that more water could be released without any warning,” he said.
Hussain, a farmer and father of four, said they received no prior notification of the water release. He estimates that over ten thousand people residing in about one thousand homes along the riverbank are directly exposed to the flood risk.
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, once a rare symbol of cooperation, is now in question. India claims sovereignty over water use, while Pakistan warns of weaponization of a shared resource.
“Well there are bilateral agreements between India and Pakistan, but this Indus Waters Treaty is trilateral. It’s not between only India and Pakistan, but the World Bank is there. And as far as the articles of that agreement is concerned, that no one, either India or Pakistan, can walk away from this. They have to agree mutually if they want to scrap this agreement,” said Raja Muhammad Farooq Haider Khan, former prime minister of Azad Kashmir, a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity in the western portion of the larger, disputed Kashmir region.
For families like Hussain’s, this is no longer just about diplomacy — it’s about survival.
“I cross the river to fish and sell it locally, just enough to get by. Last week, I set my nets, but two days later, a sudden ten-foot surge of water hit. By the time I returned, the nets were gone. I suffered heavy losses,” said Hameed Hussain, Rafiq’s son.
Tensions between India and Pakistan in Kashmir have increased since an attack last week on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed at least 26 people, mostly Indian visitors to the region. India has blamed Pakistan for supporting the attack, a charge which Pakistan vigorously denies.
Sindh governor to fund treatment of Pakistani teen separated from Indian mother after Arab News coverage
- Muhammad Ayan, paralyzed after a spine injury in 2023, was under treatment at New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, when he and his family were forced to leave India
- The development came after Pakistan, India asked each other’s nationals to leave following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists
KARACHI: Kamran Tessori, the governor of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province, has taken notice of an ailing Pakistani teenager who was separated from his Indian mother as tensions rose between the two neighboring countries, Tessori’s office said on Thursday, after Arab News published a story about the 17-year-old.
Relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors have plummeted after India accused Pakistan of backing an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people on April 22. Islamabad has rejected the charge. Both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir, taken diplomatic measures against each other, expelled citizens and ordered the border shut, leaving many in limbo.
Muhammad Ayan, paralyzed after he suffered a gunshot wound to his spine during a gunfight between police and street criminals in Karachi in 2023, was under treatment at New Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, when he and his family were forced to leave India, following the Kashmir attack. Ayan’s mother, Nabeela, who is an Indian national, could not travel with them.
Arab News this week published a story on the 17-year-old teenager who had to return to the southern Pakistani city of Karachi along with his father, Muhammad Imran, and siblings after being separated from his mother, prompting Governor Tessori to take notice of Ayan’s tragedy.
“I will pay all the expenses of the treatment of the disabled child,” Tessori was quoted as saying by his office.
Ayan narrated to Arab News how he got separated from his mother amid tears and sobs.
“She was separated from us while crying and we also came here with great difficulty, crying,” an emotional Ayan said.
Ayan’s father, Imran, had married his maternal cousin, Nabeela, a resident of New Delhi, 18 years ago. Since then, Nabeela had been living in Pakistan on a visa that was intermittently renewed without her ever needing to acquire Pakistan’s nationality.
But the suspension of visas meant Imran and his Pakistani children’s 45-day medical visa was no longer valid. And Nabeela was eventually left behind in India.
The April 22 assault occurred as tourists enjoyed tranquil mountain views at the popular site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, when gunmen burst out of forests and raked crowds with automatic weapons.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing separate portions of it. Both countries have two of their three wars over the disputed territory.
Separatist groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan. New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing the militants, Islamabad denies it and says it only supports Kashmiris diplomatically and politically.
Imran said he went to India after spending “every single rupee” with the hope that his son would walk again. However, bilateral tensions between India and Pakistan, and the ensuing atmosphere in India made his family “very scared.”
“I told them, ‘I am married [to her],’ I pleaded with them, cried, and showed a lot of humility,” Imran said about his interaction with Indian authorities.
“But they said, ‘No, write an exit and leave.’“
For Ayan, the shock of being separated from his mother compounded the trauma of his paralysis and incomplete treatment.
“I went for treatment with a hope but that hope shattered because of that accident and then the fact that my mother was not coming with us,” he said.
“I was completely separated from a mother’s love. We were far apart; it made me cry.”
In his statement, Governor Tessori said Pakistanis are a proud nation and know how to share each other’s pain.
“If India has descended into hostility toward humanity, I will get him treated,” he said.
PM says no ‘conceivable advantage’ for Pakistan in Indian-administered Kashmir attack
- Public anger has swelled in India since the attack and PM Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers ‘to the ends of the earth’
- The Pakistani information minister says New Delhi has offered no evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the attack that killed 26 people
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan would gain no “conceivable advantage” by involving itself in an incident like the Pahalgam attack in Indian-administered Kashmir at a time when it is on the path to economic stability, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, amid heightened tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi over the attack that killed 26 people on April 22.
India has accused Pakistan of backing the attack, which Islamabad denies. The nuclear-armed rivals have since expelled each other’s diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace to each other. New Delhi has also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.
Soldiers on each side have also exchanged fire along their de facto border, driving tensions between India and Pakistan to their highest point in recent years. The situation prompted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to call senior officials in India and Pakistan this week in an effort to defuse the crisis.
The tensions come at a time when Pakistan is treading a long, tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program since averting a default on its foreign debt obligations in 2023. Islamabad has reached out countries in Central Asia and beyond to boost trade as economic indicators significantly improved in the South Asian country.
“Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and underscored the nation’s sacrifices in the war against terror,” PM Sharif said in his conversation with Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, underscoring his nation’s hard-earned economic gains over the past year.
“Pakistan would gain no conceivable advantage by involving itself in any such incident at a time when it was on the path to economic stability.”
Sharif reiterated his call for a credible, transparent and neutral international investigation into the Pahalgam attack, expressing concerns over India’s “weaponization of the waters of the Indus Basin.”
India on April 23 suspended the World Bank-mediated Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, saying it would last until “Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” Islamabad has described India’s move as an “act of war.”
In his conversation with the Pakistan premier, the Qatari emir his country wanted to work with Pakistan toward ensuring the de-escalation of the current crisis.
Public anger has swelled in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to pursue the attackers “to the ends of the earth.” A Pakistani minister has said that Pakistan has “credible intelligence” that India is planning to attack it within days.
Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told CNN on Thursday that India had failed to provide a shred of proof of Pakistan’s involvement in the Pahalgam incident.
“India, after Pahalgam incident, blamed Pakistan without any evidence, but Pakistan has offered a fair and transparent investigation to the matter,” he said, adding that New Delhi had used such incidents as pretexts to attack Pakistan in the past.
“This is not the first time, they have done this before in the past, exploiting such incidents to their advantage.”
On Thursday, Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Asim Munir, reviewed a military training exercise by the armed forces in the eastern Punjab province, the military said.
It said in a statement that the “exercise was meticulously designed to validate combat readiness, battlefield synergy, and the operational integration of cutting-edge weapon systems under near-battlefield conditions.”
“Let there be no ambiguity: any military misadventure by India will be met with a swift, resolute, and notch-up response,” the statement quoted Munir as saying. “While Pakistan remains committed to regional peace, our preparedness and resolve to safeguard national interests is absolute.”
The Indian army in a statement on Thursday said it responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from Pakistan in the Kupwara, Uri and Akhnoor sectors of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The previous day, Pakistan’s state-run media said Indian forces had violated the ceasefire agreement along the de facto border in Kashmir by initiating fire with heavy weapons on troops in the Mandal sector of Azad Kashmir. The incidents could not be independently verified.
The region of Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. The two countries have fought two wars and one limited conflict over the Himalayan territory.
The United Nations (UN) has urged the arch-rivals to talk, while China, which shares its border with both India and Pakistan, this week repeated its call on both sides to “exercise restraint.” Saudi Arabia has said Riyadh was trying to “prevent an escalation,” while Iran has offered to mediate the crisis.
Pakistan saw ‘sharp’ 22 percent decline in militant attacks in April, says think tank
- Pakistan’s security forces have been battling twin insurgencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan provinces
- April also marked the lowest monthly death toll among security forces since June 2024, says think tank’s report
KARACHI: Pakistan witnessed a sharp decline in militant attacks during April, an Islamabad-based think tank said in its report this week, saying that they dropped by a whopping 22 percent compared to the previous month, March.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, said in its monthly report that both militant attacks and resultant casualties dropped sharply compared to March.
Pakistan’s security forces have been battling twin insurgencies in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces. In KP, the Pakistani Taliban frequently carry out some of the deadliest attacks against security forces while in Balochistan, Pakistani troops are battling ethnic Baloch separatists seeking independence from the state.
“The number of militant attacks fell by 22 percent— from 105 in March to 82 in April— while fatalities and injuries declined by 63 percent and 49 percent, respectively,” the PICSS said in its press release on Thursday.
The report said Pakistani security forces killed 203 militants in various operations throughout the month. Militants formed an overwhelming majority (73 percent) of the total fatalities in April, while only four casualties were reported. Of these, two were civilians and two were security personnel, it added.
“A total of 287 people were killed in April due to militant violence and security operations, down from 335 in March,” the think tank said.
The report said April also marked the lowest monthly death toll among security forces since June 2024, noting that civilian deaths also dropped significantly last month.
“PICSS attributed these improvements to proactive intelligence-led operations and enhanced border vigilance,” it said.
The report said the most “consequential development” of the month was a two-phase military operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that targeted a large group of infiltrating Pakistani Taliban militants.
“At least 71 militants were killed— making it the biggest loss suffered by the group in a single operation to date,” the report said.
The think tank also noted the resurgence of attacks on local peace committee members in tribal districts who have historically resisted militant infiltrations.
“The resurgence of attacks on these volunteers, particularly in the tribal districts, suggests that groups like the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan] are attempting to reassert dominance by silencing local resistance structures,” it said.
The report said mainland KP recorded 37 militant attacks in April, marginally down from 42 in March while tribal districts reported 17 attacks last month, slightly down from 18 in March. Balochistan witnessed 21 militant attacks in April, compared to 35 in March while Punjab reported three and Sindh four attacks in April.
It said Pakistan’s capital Islamabad remained peaceful in April, with no militant attacks reported for the second consecutive month.
