Islamabad [Pakistan], August 22 (ANI): The New York Times reported on the difficulties individuals in Pakistan are experiencing as a result of a severe internet slowness, which digital experts and analysts believe is an attempt by the government to suppress dissent.
The story describes Shafi Naeem, a freelance software designer located in Karachi, who has been unable to submit the websites on which he is now working.
Clients have given him WhatsApp voice messages and photographs that will not download, with an indication of a clock at the bottom right of each image, indicating that it has not yet been received, confounding his attempts.
“It’s not just bad for business; it’s devastating,” Naeem, 39, told The New York Times. He believes he has already lost more than half of his $4,000 monthly salary. “Our work depends on fast, reliable internet.”online connections in Pakistan have slowed to a crawl in recent days, fueling outrage and sparking concerns that the government is secretly developing a new firewall-like system to better monitor and manage the country’s online.
The administration has denied any participation in the slowdown, which has affected millions of users and disrupted companies across the country.
According to the New York Times, trade associations and company owners have complained that internet speeds have decreased to half of their regular rates. Files that used to take minutes to upload now take hours, while frozen displays and delayed voices disrupt internet chats and video conferencing.
The Pakistan Software Houses Association, which represents software businesses around the country, decried the “grave consequences of the hastily implemented national firewall,” saying that interruptions might cost the Pakistani economy up to $300 million.
The Pakistan Freelancers Association also warned that persistent challenges might lead to Pakistan being demoted on online freelancing platforms, harming the fledgling business.
Pakistani officials claim they are modernizing their systems to better cybersecurity, but they deny that government monitoring technology is behind the interruptions. Instead, they accused the usage of virtual private networks (VPNs) for causing network pressure.
However, digital researchers and observers blamed the poor speeds on the government’s efforts to control the country’s digital environment, saying that this might limit free expression and civil freedoms in Pakistan’s already precarious democracy.
They claim that the Pakistani government is implementing a new firewall-like system that is far more sophisticated than earlier web-monitoring systems used to block certain websites.
According to observers, this new technology allows the government to continue banning access to some portions of the internet, such as social media, websites, and messaging platforms, while also increasing its power to monitor, regulate, and censor digital spaces.
According to Usama Khilji, director of the Islamabad-based digital rights watchdog Bolo Bhi, the new system appears to allow authorities to target and block specific components of mobile apps, such as WhatsApp voice notes, photos, and videos, while allowing text messages and voice calls.
Digital rights organizations are concerned that this technology would eventually allow authorities to trace online messages back to the phone or computer from which they were sent, as well as restrict specific material. Some rights groups believe that the new technology was not properly set for Pakistan’s internet infrastructure, resulting in the recent slowness.
These claims come amid a larger government assault on supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to rights groups, military officials have a history of detaining opposition individuals, imprisoning journalists, and periodically shutting down the country’s internet in order to crush dissent.
Since the general elections in February, Pakistanis have only had sporadic access to social media services such as X (previously Twitter). Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media and public relations department, has recently added senior officers to its ranks in an effort to battle the deluge of anti-military sentiments on social media.
According to the New York Times, military authorities have been using the phrase “digital terrorism” in speeches and news releases since May, threatening to destroy individuals they believe are seeking to create dissension in the country.
This month, the army’s leader, Gen. Asim Munir, stepped up the rhetoric, claiming in a speech that there are limitations to free expression in Pakistan and accused foreign forces of instigating “digital terrorism.””Those who seek to sever ties between state institutions and the people of Pakistan will fail,” General Munir said on August 14 at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. (ANI)