PTA under fire as internet slowdown hits e-commerce sector in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) faced intense scrutiny on Thursday during a Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology meeting, as senators expressed outrage over slow internet services plaguing the country.

Chaired by Senator Palwasha Khan, the session saw heated discussions highlighting the impact of poor internet connectivity on business activities and e-commerce.

Senators Afnanullah Khan and Humayun expressed their displeasure with the PTA and the Ministry of Information Technology, citing the withdrawl of several e-commerce platforms from Pakistan due to slow internet speeds.

“Users are experiencing significant issues with uploading and downloading media files on WhatsApp,” Senator Afnanullah noted. “The slow internet speeds are severely affecting online business operations and user experience.”

In response, the Secretary of Information Technology clarified that the current issues with internet services are mostly related to cellular networks rather than Wi-Fi services.

However, the PTA official claimed that the authority had not received formal complaints regarding slow internet speeds, prompting further criticism from senators.

The meeting was also scheduled to discuss the installation of firewalls across Internet Service Providers (ISPs), a recent government initiative aimed at regulating social media and internet traffic.

However, due to the unavailability of PTA officials to discuss the firewall installations, the agenda item was postponed.