The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology has once again postponed the Digital Nation Pakistan Bill.
Sharmila Farooqi, a committee member, has expressed anger over the government’s statements regarding the lack of improvement in internet speed, Express News reported.The committee meeting, chaired by Federal IT Minister Syed Aminul Haq, discussed several issues related to the bill and internet services.
The committee decided to defer the bill once again, with the chairman stating that the issue would be discussed in the next session, where input from members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and other parties would be considered.
Opposition Leader Omar Ayub claimed that internet services are being shut down due to interference from secret agencies.He said that these shutdowns are causing losses worth millions of dollars, with Pakistan still having one of the lowest internet speeds in the world.
Ayub further pointed out that despite previous claims of improvement, internet speed remained unsatisfactory and demanded that PTA officials be sworn in to address these issues.He also criticised the use of VPNs, saying that the models being proposed were being weaponised against the public.
He emphasised that the issue was not with VPN services but with the intentions behind their use.Committee member Romina Khurshid Alam stressed that monitoring is essential when there are threats against the state, citing how even cartoons are monitored in other countries.
She highlighted the role of the committee in strengthening the country and ensuring that national security concerns are addressed.Omar Ayub also questioned whether civilian surveillance is carried out under specific rules or court orders, pointing out that everyone is operating openly without any oversight, which he found concerning.
Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Hafeez-ur-Rehman, took an oath and reaffirmed his previous statements regarding Pakistan’s internet infrastructure.
He said, “I am in wudu (ablution) right now and stand by my previous statement. In August 2024, I mentioned that out of 7 submarine cables, 4 were operational. By October 2024, one cable was repaired after a delay of 5 months. Currently, we are ranked 97th out of 200 countries in mobile service, and we continuously conduct surveys and review the situation.”
