Pakistan's IT minister rejects reports suggesting internet being throttled by government as 'completely false'

Islamabad: Pakistan's State Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja on Sunday rejected as "completely false" speculation about any role of the government in throttling the internet amid the countrywide internet disruptions.

“I want to reassure the public that the internet has neither been shut down nor slowed down by the state,” she said at a press conference after the business community and internet service providers alleged that the government installed firewalls to monitor internet traffic, which led to the disruptions of services.

She explained that when a large number of people use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass Content Delivery Networks or local caches and connect directly to live servers, it puts additional pressure on those servers, which can ultimately slow down the internet.

“Even when you use VPNs on your phones, you may notice that your device automatically slows down. This is because the increased traffic exerts pressure, which led to the internet slowing down for a few days,” she said.

“I can say under oath that the government neither shut down nor slowed down the internet,” she said.

On Thursday, Khawaja said that the government had ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant bodies to submit a report after the issue of internet connectivity surfaced.

The Lahore High Court has summoned representatives from the federal government, the information ministry, and the PTA on August 21 over internet disruptions.