Govt, PTA officials summoned in LHC’s next hearing on internet outage

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday sought the appearance of representatives from both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) for its August 21 hearing on the issue of countrywide internet outages.

Users across Pakistan are continuing to report internet disruptions with many unable to send or receive messages on networking apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram.

The petition, filed by Advocate Muhammad Nadeem of Lahore on Friday, names the federal government — through the law and information ministries as well as the cabinet division secretary — along with the PTA chairman as respondents in the case.

State counsel Rana Nauman had appeared before the court and sought some time for the government to submit a “detailed report on the internet outages”.

“We will have to ask the PTA why the internet is slow [and] what has happened,” a leading English daily quoted the counsel as saying.

In response, LHC Justice Shakil Ahmed admonished the state counsel for showing lack of “knowledge” and “seriousness” over ongoing internet issues across the country.

Multinational companies relocating due to internet issues

The Pakistan Business Council had said persistent internet outages had forced several companies to consider moving out of the country, with many having already done so recently.

“Many multinational companies (MNCs) are either planning to relocate their back offices from Pakistan or have already done so, as the reported imposition of a firewall causes widespread internet disruptions across the country,” the PBC said in a statement.

The tech industry has already expressed serious concern over the recent internet slowdown, warning that these disruptions could cost Pakistan up to $300 million. The PBC asked the authorities concerned to go back and get the right firewall or learn to apply it without creating an unnecessary impact on employment and exports.