Tech Desk
Aug 27, 2024
During a hearing of a petition lodged against internet outage and the installation of a firewall in the country, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that another submarine cable was damaged; however, PTA spokesperson Malahat Ubaid told Gadinsider that "there's no issue with a third cable."
"The fault is only with two cables which are being examined and fixed," added the PTA spokesperson.
IHC Chief Justice (CJ) Aamir Farooq said ministers concerned are making differing statements, some attributing the internet slowdown to the damaged submarine cables while others pointing towards firewall installation.
He added that the entire nation has been perplexed by the ministers' contradictory remarks. Newspapers and news publishing outlets' recent coverage clearly indicates that ministers affiliated with IT and telecom spheres are making discrepant remarks, remarked the CJ.
The court proceedings were initiated upon the request of a senior journalist Hamid Mir at IHC.
Expressing dissatisfaction over reasons provided by the lawyer representing PTA, the court inquired who was accountable for the longstanding, unaddressed internet outage in the country.
No sort of installation from the PTA's end caused any disruption to the internet service, the PTA lawyer told IHC.
Pakistani Human Rights lawyer Imaan Mazari was of the view that the upgradation of the Web Management System (WMS) was confirmed by the PTA chairman Maj General (R) Hafeez Ur Rehman.
Her remarks aligned with the PTA's admission last week of the installation of the National Firewall System (NFS).
