Senate Members Furios Over PTA’s Misconduct & Lack of Transparency

Senator Palwasha Khan recently chaired a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology in which the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority was heavily criticized. The committee expressed its dissatisfaction with the PTA and showed dismay at the absence of the PTA chairman from the meeting. Senator Afnanullah remarked that the PTA refused to give a briefing on internet-related issues to the Senate committee though it had spoken in front of a national assembly committee. The senator warned that if such conduct continued, the members would stage a walkout, to remind the PTA of the significance of Upper House.

In response, PTA officials at the meeting said that recent internet disruptions were because of a fault in a submarine cable. They informed that the malfunction was discovered in one of Pakistan’s seven submarine cables on June 18. The cables connect the country to the global internet. They added that the total data capacity of those submarine cables was 3.5 terabytes per second, but due to the malfunction, 1.5 terabytes was compromised.

They added that increased internet traffic, aggravated by the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), put extra load on the system. Meanwhile, Senator Afnanullah sought a clear timeline for resolving the issue, to which PTA officials responded that the PTA would take action when the Ministry of Interior (MoI) makes a request. They cited the example of X which was blocked at the request of the MoI.

Senator Afnanullah urged the PTA not to block VPNs while Senator Anusha Rehman questioned the efficacy of measures like the X ban. Meanwhile, chairperson Palwasha Khan showed frustration at the telecom regulator’s apparent lack of transparency, stating, “I asked for names and salaries of 21 consultants, but you haven’t provided them.”

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