AIRLINK 182.14 Decreased By ▼ -2.57 (-1.39%)
BOP 11.63 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-4.04%)
CNERGY 8.21 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (9.47%)
FCCL 47.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-0.74%)
FFL 16.17 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.12%)
FLYNG 28.52 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.04%)
HUBC 143.22 Increased By ▲ 1.64 (1.16%)
HUMNL 13.41 Increased By ▲ 0.23 (1.75%)
KEL 4.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.22%)
KOSM 6.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-2.38%)
MLCF 59.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.12 (-1.86%)
OGDC 226.81 Increased By ▲ 1.33 (0.59%)
PACE 6.05 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.33%)
PAEL 48.23 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.19%)
PIAHCLA 19.39 Increased By ▲ 1.12 (6.13%)
PIBTL 10.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-2.99%)
POWER 11.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.26 (-2.2%)
PPL 192.27 Increased By ▲ 2.62 (1.38%)
PRL 39.13 Increased By ▲ 2.77 (7.62%)
PTC 24.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-1.1%)
SEARL 101.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.96 (-0.93%)
SILK 1.15 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
SSGC 37.73 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (2.72%)
SYM 15.63 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.51%)
TELE 8.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.12%)
TPLP 10.96 Decreased By ▼ -0.30 (-2.66%)
TRG 68.53 Decreased By ▼ -1.78 (-2.53%)
WAVESAPP 11.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.15 (-1.34%)
WTL 1.42 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.43%)
YOUW 3.79 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.26%)
BR100 12,632 Increased By 30 (0.24%)
BR30 39,444 Increased By 151.5 (0.39%)
KSE100 118,770 Increased By 795.7 (0.67%)
KSE30 36,532 Increased By 36.4 (0.1%)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Saturday criticized the government for restricting internet access, saying it was aimed at undermining PTI under the pretext of security issues.

PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram said the closure of internet has considerable economic repercussions, as Pakistan ranked first globally in economic losses last year, surpassing nations such as Sudan and Myanmar, which have been severely affected by civil conflicts.

Reacting to the report, released by Top10VPN.com, an independent VPN reviewer, he said that Pakistan topped the charts with a cumulative financial impact of $1.62 billion, which was alarming, despite the fact the overall world-wide cost of internet shutdowns dropped by 15.8 percent in 2024.

Adhoc bandwidth arranged, no internet service degradation now: PTA

He lambasted the Minister of State for IT and the PTA chairman for concocting baseless and lame excuses to justify the government’s wrong, self-serving and anti-people policy of throttling internet speeds each time, as a 24-hour internet shutdown alone resulting in a staggering loss of Rs1.3 billion.

He emphasised that the government should refrain from scapegoating the internet for Pakistan’s deteriorating security situation. Instead, he argued that the root-cause lied in their misguided priorities and flawed policies, adding that during Imran Khan’s tenure, the country experienced a period of exemplary peace.

He said that the flawed policy would have far-reaching devastating economic consequences for the country including the loss of substantial foreign exchange earnings and potential business contracts.

However, he stated that the government was hell-bent on suppressing dissenting voices to conceal their own ineptitude and incompetence.

He said the “Uraan Pakistan” initiative and the upcoming 5G spectrum auction, the country’s economic flight would remain a dream until the government recognised the crucial role of investing in IT sectors, which was the main driving force to economic growth.

He highlighted that the unreliable internet connectivity in Pakistan was driving IT companies to relocate abroad, which could have long-term consequences for the country’s economy. He warned that once these companies and their clients migrate to other countries, it would be extremely challenging to lure them back, resulting in a permanent loss of business opportunities, revenue and jobs for Pakistanis.

He said that Pakistan’s IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector has emerged as a key player on the global stage and it was ranked as the second most financially attractive destination for offshore outsourcing and was second largest in software and technology services, with exports rising from $1.4 billion in 2019-20 to $3.2 billion in 2023-24.

PTI CIS noted that Pakistan boasted a robust IT workforce, comprising over 300,000 English-speaking professionals and over 20,000 IT graduates and engineers joined the workforce each year.

Moreover, he stated that Pakistan was the fourth-fastest growing country in freelancing, which was the fourth largest in IT labour services globally.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Comments

Comments are closed.