Claim: Recent internet disruptions in Pakistan are not being caused by any kind of firewall installation or ‘web management system’ upgradation. And the UK and US also have a firewall similar to the one being installed in Pakistan right now.
Fact: Several digital rights advocates, journalists and international organisations have reported internet disruptions in Pakistan to be directly linked to the setting up of a ‘web management system’. Moreover, the UK and US do not have firewalls that are comparable to Pakistan’s.
Recent Internet Disruptions in Pakistan
Social media users reported facing slowed internet speeds several times since 17 February 2024, when X (formerly Twitter) was first shut down in Pakistan after the general election. Social media users also complained about slowed internet speed in May and June. In July, Netblocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance, reported live network data showing a nation-scale disruption in internet connectivity in Pakistan. Social media users also corroborated this data with reports of the internet slowdown. Netblocks’ data shows that the national connectivity was at 24% of ordinary levels. In August, users reported deteriorating internet speed in metropolitan cities like Lahore. And in September, people specifically complained about mobile data being impacted.
What is the government saying?
Until August 2024, the Pakistan government, especially the Ministry of Information, consistently denied any reports of the installation of a web management system or firewall. They either attributed the internet slowdown to technical glitches, submarine cable damage or alleged interference by Indian state actors. This continued lack of transparency led to speculation and fear. In other cases the Minister of IT just simply denied that the internet was being throttled at all.
However, a statement issued by the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP) on 15 August 2024, claimed that the internet speed has slowed down by 30 to 40%. “Over the past few weeks, internet speeds have plummeted by 30 to 40 per cent, creating a chaotic situation for businesses and individuals who rely heavily on fast, reliable connectivity,” it said. The Pakistan Software Houses Association also issued a statement claiming that these disruptions could result in financial losses of more than $300 million.
On 16 August 2024, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja acknowledged for the first time, that the government is upgrading its ‘web management system’ as an explanation for sluggish internet speeds for the last couple of months.
On 18 August 2024, Khawaja claimed that any reports suggesting the government is throttling the internet are false. According to Dawn.com, she also confirmed that the government was upgrading its ‘web management system’ to cope with cyber security threats. “I can say under oath that the government neither shut down nor slowed down the internet,” the minister asserted.
This came shortly after she ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant bodies to submit a report on recent disruptions to the internet. The order was made after the Pakistan Business Council stated that several multinational companies are planning their departure from the country during internet disruptions.
On 23 July 2024, Barrister Danyal Chaudhry, a PMLN lawmaker, appeared on the political TV show Spotlight on AAJ News, with journalist Munizae Jehangir. When asked how the government’s firewall may lead to further restrictions, Chaudhry said it would help filter out propaganda against “institutions of Pakistan”, further adding that London and the US also have national firewalls. Jehangir then corrected him, stating that there are no such firewalls in the US. However, Chaudhry continued, adding that firewalls are used for adult websites and exist in almost every country in the world. Chaudhry continued to reassert his claim despite Jehangir’s consistent opposition.
On 24 September 2024, Oxford Analytica published an article titled “Pakistan’s internet firewall may inflict major damage”. They noted that approximately 45% of Pakistan’s population is connected to the internet. The article also stated the Pakistan government is cracking down on VPN usage and that a lack of adequate tech infrastructure, the implementation of a firewall is causing a lot more harm. Scientia reported on 15 October 2024 that the “firewall misadventure” was harming Pakistan’s internet growth and innovation.
On 6 October Dawn reported a senior executive of a cellular mobile operator saying that the internet users in Pakistan were facing low bandwidth due to the internet firewall. Internet services were also suspended in the twin cities – Rawalpindi and Islamabad – on Friday, 4 October 2024. According to another article, PTA sources have claimed the firewall upgrade will be completed by the end of October.
Claim 1: Recent internet disruptions across Pakistan are not linked to the implementation of the new ‘web management system’ or the installation of an internet firewall, according to official sources.
Fact 1: The government and telecom regulator PTA have provided various explanations for the months-long internet service disruptions. However, these reasons fail to fully account for the issues. Meanwhile, digital rights experts and journalists assert that the slowing internet speeds are a direct result of the implementation of an internet firewall.
Social media users in Pakistan have reported experiencing exceptionally slow internet speeds across the country in recent months, prompting investigations into the cause of these disruptions.
Industry sources, as reported by Ramsha Jehangir for Dawn.com, suggest that a new, more advanced system has been implemented, capable of throttling and limiting content on an application-specific basis.
This Web Management System (WMS), which has been in deployment since December 2023, allows for more precise control over internet traffic, enabling authorities to slow down or limit access to specific services without completely blocking them. “This can slow down or limit access to these services without blocking them,” she wrote. “Previously you would be able to block YouTube as a whole but now they can throttle specific apps and block individual pieces of content,” insider sources were reported saying.
The implementation of this system has raised concerns among digital rights experts and journalists, who argue that the deteriorating internet speeds are directly related to the establishment of an internet firewall.
This assertion is supported by a 2019 report co-authored by Jehangir and Umer Ali for Coda Story, which claimed that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had contracted with Sandvine and a local partner, Inbox Business Technologies Ltd., to provide equipment for monitoring internet traffic. The report claims that, “According to the agreement — a copy of which was exclusively shared with Coda — the contract is worth $18.5 million and dated December 12, 2018. The “web monitoring system” will use Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) to monitor communications, measure and record traffic and call data on behalf of the country’s national telecommunications regulator, Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA).”
It further states that Pakistan’s then Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Khan Swati told the country’s Senate that the PTA had asked Inbox Business Technologies and Sandvine Inc to provide “equipment for monitoring grey traffic”.
Despite official explanations attributing the slowdowns to technical glitches, submarine cable damage, and even alleged interference by Indian state actors, these reasons fail to fully account for the months-long disruptions. The government’s lack of transparency has led to speculation and concern among experts and citizens alike.
The situation has been further complicated by recent events, such as the nationwide mobile internet shutdown on election day (8 February 2024) and the continued ban on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) since 17 February 2024, when the Rawalpindi Election Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha publicly resigned after announcing electoral rigging took place in his constituency.
These incidents, coupled with reports of difficulties accessing other communication platforms like WhatsApp and Signal, have intensified scrutiny of the government’s digital policies. Members of the NA Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunications noted that “WhatsApp was functioning efficiently through VPNs, indicating that the disruptions were local rather than international.”
Fareiha Aziz, founder of Bolo Bhi, an advocacy forum for digital rights, has explicitly linked the internet disruptions to the installation of a firewall, arguing that it serves as a tool for political control rather than protection. “Typically, a firewall exists on devices such as laptops to enable protection against harmful network traffic. The ‘firewall’ being referred to in Pakistan serves no protective purpose and seeks to restrict the flow of information as a tool of political control.” she wrote.
On 15 August 2024, IT Minister Shaza Fatima acknowledged the complaints regarding internet slowdown for the first time. She claimed that she has requested data from the PTA for the past two weeks to analyse the internet. She also issued a statement that the government is upgrading the existing web management system to a firewall in order
It was not until 21 August that the PTA cited three reasons, in a written statement to the Lahore High Court. In this statement they attributed the internet disruptions to:
- Submarine cables being damaged
- Interference from Indian state actors
- Surge in widespread use of VPNs
The last reason is also a testament to the fact that internet services have been declining due to local reasons, driving social media users towards VPNs. The submarine cable damage is only used to explain the dip in internet speed from 31 July onwards. Even the claim regarding Indian state actors being directly involved in internet disruption only explains two days of slow internet speeds, according to the statement itself. Neither of these reasons can be looked at as an explanation for several months of internet disruption and deteriorating speeds.
GAD Insider also spoke to Doug Madory, an American Internet routing infrastructure expert, to better understand Pakistan’s internet problem. He said, “There was a submarine cable break that is affecting Pakistan but that occurred in June. There may be another issue that is compounding the loss of the cable that has caused the more recent problems.” The article explains that on 17 June 2024, a fault occurred in the submarine cable, disrupting Pakistan’s internet services.
Soch Fact Check also asked Hajra Maryam at Amnesty Tech about the nexus between the installation of the firewall and nationwide internet slowdown. She explained, “The government so far has given many reasons for internet disruptions, so it is not transparent for Amnesty International to ascertain as to which reasoning is valid or not. As far as the web management system is concerned, there is no clarity about what “the degradation” really refers to. The core issue also lies in the WMS itself, given how some of its functions act like a national firewall– it tends to filter content and control access to information, and enables surveillance. Pakistan has consistently failed to provide any transparency about the nature of the WMS, any inquiries into it have been behind closed doors, away from the public and media.” Maryam also shed light on the existence of draconian laws like the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), the block on X, and the violation of people’s right to freedom of speech. She told us that several users have also complained about having difficulties on the platform Signal, and that this kind of lack of access to the internet can have serious repercussions for the ones at the margins of society.
After National Assembly proceedings on 26 August 2024, the PTA decided to implement a series of steps to improve Internet access for the public while the Minister of IT Shaza Fatima Khwaja continues to deny government responsibility for slowing down internet speeds.
However, from the vast coverage of the matter by technical experts and digital rights journalists, it is clear that the internet disruptions that the people of Pakistan have been facing since the last few months, are directly linked to the establishment of a web management system.
Claim 2: Government officials assert that the internet firewall Pakistan is currently implementing is comparable to systems used in the United States and United Kingdom.
Fact 2: The US and UK do not have comparable systems. Rights organisations note that firewalls similar to Pakistan’s proposed system are primarily found in countries with more restricted democratic freedoms, such as China, North Korea, Iran, and Russia.”
Several international rights organisations refute the claim in question.
Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia Pacific Policy Director at Access Now — a non-profit organisation focused on digital civil rights and internet censorship — told Soch Fact Check,
“The US and the UK do not have any firewall akin to the firewall in China. Certain types of illegal material are blocked or filtered — for instance, specific pages with abuse material would be blocked and material subject to copyright claims may be taken down following orders from the relevant authorities — but the system is nothing like the large scale, opaque, systemic and infrastructural restriction on access to certain platforms or content as in China, or as is seemingly being sought to be done in Pakistan. This is essentially pre-censorship, an opaque internet firewall, which should have no space in a democracy.”
Amnesty International also corroborated this information. Hajra Maryam from Amnesty Tech told Soch Fact Check that neither the US nor the UK have any national firewalls. “The main purpose of a national firewall is basically restricting content or a tool for controlling the internet. Countries which do this are China, Iran, Russia, and Vietnam. Also, countries like Algeria, China, Iran, Russia and Vietnam have blocked websites of some human rights organisations including Amnesty International, to limit access to information about rights violations. What [the] US and UK probably have are some regulatory mechanisms in place that require certain tech companies to block harmful content online, however these mechanisms are subject to limitations based on protections such as the First Amendment in the US. Terms like ‘anti-state’ are too broad to meet international human rights standards which call for proportionality and necessity when restricting any form of speech, including online speech.”
Further, no US or UK-based rights organisations or mainstream news reports have mentioned such a firewall in either country. Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that Barrister Danyal Chaudhry’s assertion was false.
Virality
AAJ TV has 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube and the show presenting the claim was watched at least 2,800 times. In addition to this, Shaza Fatima’s statements are reported by every TV, print and digital news media organization.
Conclusion: PMLN leader Barrister Danyal Chaudhry and IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khwaja have both made false statements regarding Pakistan’s internet landscape and the global internet firewall apparatus.
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Background image in cover photo: Being Guru
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