Pak IT body urges govt to reverse internet ban; imposed after the arrest of Imran Khan

Karachi: A top IT body in Pakistan has called on the government to restore the internet services in the country that were suspended in the wake of violent protests erupting after the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.

People in Pakistan have resorted to using various VPN services after the interior ministry directed the Pakistan Telecom Authority to suspend internet services and also some social media platforms on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Software Houses Association (PASHA), the sole representative body of IT and IT-enabled services in Pakistan, criticised the government’s decision to suspend all internet services.

“The IT and IT-related services including software is already facing a crisis in Pakistan due to the ill-timed and faulty policies of the government and now this step without consulting us has only further deepened the crisis in the business, trade and IT industries,” PASHA president Muhammad Zohaib Khan said.

“Apart from the general public, which is struggling to get their work done, the suspension of internet services is causing losses of millions of dollars as no foreign client would give even a few days leverage to its partners in Pakistan," he said.

PASHA called on the government to end the suspension and disruption of internet services in the country, saying it was causing losses of millions of dollars to the IT, trade and business industries.

Zohaib noted that banks, business houses, trade companies and IT services are all dependent on fast internet services.

“Internet is our lifeline and business houses, satellite infrastructure and IT industry are solely dependent on it for work. Since Tuesday evening, everything has gone blank,” he said.

Human rights group Amnesty International has also urged the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to restore internet services in the country and access to social media platforms.

"Pakistan: Amid concerns about escalating clashes between Imran Khan's supporters and the police, Amnesty International is alarmed by reports that Pakistani authorities have suspended mobile internet and access to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube," Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office tweeted on Tuesday.

"This restricts people's access to information and freedom of expression. We call upon the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority and Interior Ministry to immediately reverse this ban," it said in another tweet.

The government's stringent measures came as violent protests erupted in many parts of the country soon after the arrest of Khan on Tuesday morning.

Khan's supporters have resorted to violence, attacking installations of the armed forces and residences of top officers in Lahore and Peshawar.

Despite the imposition of section 144 and the deployment of a large contingent of police forces, more protests are planned for Thursday in different parts of the country.

In Karachi, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers are expected to stage a sit-in on the main Shahrah-e-Faisal Road.

Around 280 PTI workers and leaders have been arrested in Karachi since Tuesday for inciting violence or taking part in violent protests.

The government deployed the army in the capital Islamabad and three other provinces after PTI workers damaged and set on fire public and private properties and burnt public transport buses.

After the arrest of Khan in a corruption case, the authorities have arrested other senior PTI leaders from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, including Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar.

An anti-corruption court on Wednesday sent the 70-year-old Khan on an eight-day physical remand to the National Accountability Bureau.

Khan's dramatic arrest on Tuesday sparked widespread violent protests across Pakistan, leaving at least eight people dead and nearly 300 others injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement agencies.