Daily Times

Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Division Syed Sajid Mehdi must have felt incredibly sagacious when he suggested people “use the internet less” and only for “important matters only” to address the sluggish internet speeds. After all, moderation is the key to life.

But sadly for him and as yet another textbook example of political foot-in-mouth syndrome, the internet is not something that can be squandered or made extinct, at least not by the harmless browsing of end consumers. Now, Mr Mehdi could have had a clean chit because it is not his job to know the ins and outs of the digital landscape yet given the party’s long-earned reputation for churning out bizarre gaffes whenever questioned about internet restrictions, it might make sense for those at the helm of the affairs to reconsider its gross shortcoming in handling the disruptions.

Other than cryptic references to the national security threats, we have yet to hear from the government regarding what it actually wishes to achieve from these disruptions. At a time when Pakistan is desperate for even a nascent economic recovery, deliberate attempts to knock the wind out of the IT sector can neither be overlooked nor allowed to persist. Are we in a shape to sit idly and let the hard-earned gains by the IT sector go to waste, costing the national kitty an overwhelming $300 million?

The lack of understanding and disconnect by the authorities is quite evident. Instead of embracing the digital age and harnessing the power of the internet for positive change, the government is choosing to control and censor online content. If security concerns are what sit at the centre of the storm, why do people only suffer difficulty downloading content on WhatsApp?

It was unexplainable back in 2012 when the authorities had banned access to YouTube and it is just as unexplainable today when millions of users are forced to X, circumventing through the ban. IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja might feel confident to brag about talks with Starlink as a testament to her party’s commitment to modernising the digital infrastructure but would she ever respond to the appeal by Richard Grenell, close confidante of American president-elect, highlighting our internet woes? *