Pakistan court seeks government response next week on nationwide Internet slowdown

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday instructed the federal government and the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to submit their response at next week’s hearing of a case concerning the Internet slowdown across the country, which has caused immense problems for online workers and businesses.
According to the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, Internet speed across the country has dropped by 30-40 percent in the last few weeks, as the government tries to operationalize a national firewall installed recently to filter undesired content such as “anti-state propaganda.”
The PTA has the technological ability to block unwanted content and prevent the access of local users to specific websites, though the firewall is expected to enhance its capability to monitor and filter Internet content on a wider scale.
Justice Shakil Ahmad of the LHC took up a petition filed by a local lawyer highlighting the issue which nominated the government and PTA as respondents.
“Justice Ahmad ordered that representatives of all the respondents in the case should ensure their attendance in the next hearing,” Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported.
“The judge summoned one representative each from the federal government, the Ministry of Information and the PTA at the next hearing on August 21,” it added.
The Pakistan Software Houses Association described the problems caused by the firewall on Friday as “a disaster” for the IT industry.
The association’s senior vice chairman, Ali Ihsan, maintained the Internet disruptions were “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.”
The petition requested the court to order the government to provide uninterrupted Internet service in the country.