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December 9, 2024 - Comments Off on Pakistan’s Internet Speeds Among World’s Lowest: Ookla

Pakistan’s Internet Speeds Among World’s Lowest: Ookla

A report by the web testing and diagnostics company Ookla – known for their internet speed tests – has indicated that Pakistan’s broadband and mobile internet speeds ranked among the world’s lowest 10 percent, as of October 2024. According to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, Pakistan ranked 100 out of 111 in regards to mobile internet speeds, and 141 out of 158 for fixed broadband speeds. While the global median mobile and fixed broadband speeds have been registered at 59.15 mbps and 94.52 mbps, respectively, Pakistan’s speeds in these two categories were at 20.61 mbps and 15.60 mbps, respectively according to the report.

 

These revelations have come against the backdrop of widespread concerns pertaining to persistent internet disruptions and slowdown since June 2024 particularly as Pakistan began to test and implement its controversial firewall or web management system. Such a situation continues to have a debilitating impact on the country’s nascent tech industry and growing freelance workforce, resulting in a   in work as a result.

 

That this snapshot of Pakistan’s slow internet speeds was captured during October is significant, as concerns and frustration with the government concerning the intermitted throttling of the internet since June 2024 threatened to come to a head in October and November, resulting in the impact on the country’s digital economy, as indicated above.

December 8, 2024 - Comments Off on Online smear campaigns against journalists

Online smear campaigns against journalists

In a continuation and worsening of the dangers for journalism in Pakistan, a number of social media accounts across various platforms have been involved in spreading “fake news”, and trolling and harassing senior journalists such as Talat Hussain, Muneeb Farooq, Hassan Ayub and Syed Muzammil Shah.

A video by the journalist Talat Hussain, discussing the sectarian attacks on Shia Muslims in the district of Kurram, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which resulted in more than 130 deaths, was selectively edited to misrepresenting his statements, to make it appear that he was speaking about the controversy over the number of PTI protestors that died in the November 24-27 protest march on Islamabad.

Armed men broke into the home of journalist and vlogger Syed Muzammil Shah, threatening him and his family with shots fired into the air. Rather than this invasion of Shah’s home and danger to his family being unanimously condemned, a number of social media accounts appeared to consider it “retribution” for his reporting on the November 24-27 PTI Islamabad protest.

The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has condemned these online smear campaigns against senior journalists and TV anchors. Claiming that many of the accounts in these campaigns belong to PTI supporters, the PFUJ has requested that the PTI leadership respect freedom of speech and tolerate criticism.

December 6, 2024 - Comments Off on Pakistan Army Chief calls for action against fake news, echoed by Minister for IT

Pakistan Army Chief calls for action against fake news, echoed by Minister for IT

Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, the Pakistan Army’s most senior ranking officer called on the government to take action against “pre-planned coordinated and premeditated propaganda” that are allegedly being spread “by certain political elements as an attempt to drive a wedge between the public & Armed Forces and institutions of Pakistan.” Speaking to senior officers of the armed forces at the 84th Formation Commanders' Conference, General Munir called for stringent laws to combat “fake news”, and the “unethical use of freedom of expression to spread polarization.”

 

A day later, the Minister for IT and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, briefed the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecommunication and stated that the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) would be amended to tackle “fake news”, echoing the concerns of General Munir and others. In response to a question raised by members of the committee pertaining to the proposed amendments,   she underscored that these  amendments were aimed at addressing “concerns related to fake news and online misinformation campaigns” and not intended to “restrict the internet” and the freedom of expression of citizens. The minister was also asked about the legal powers of the PTA or the government in regards to VPN shutdowns. The Minister downplayed concerns of the committee members on internet shutdowns, claiming that the issue had been “blown too much, but the government does not intend to take such extreme measures”.

December 5, 2024 - Comments Off on Pakistani Police “Randomly” inspecting Mobile Phones: PTI Leader

Pakistani Police “Randomly” inspecting Mobile Phones: PTI Leader

Islamabad police are carrying out random inspections of people’s mobiles phones, in an attempt to locate PTI supporters, claimed Shoaib Shaheen, part of PTI’s leadership. Speaking in the wake of the November 24-27 PTI protest march which has resulted in a crackdown by the government, Shaheen accused the police of carrying out profiling of people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, based “on their CNICs and ethnicity”, with arrests being made if material on their phones was found to be related to former PTI leader Imran Khan in any way. According to Shaheen, arrests were also made of anyone subsequently visiting people held in custody. Rights activists, including the DRF’s Executive Director, Nighat Dad, condemned these searches, noting that they breached Article 14 of the Constitution of Pakistan, concerning individual rights and dignity.

 

Though the police denied carrying out profiling, claiming that any security checkpoints were established per routine, journalists from Pakistan’s Dawn News reported witnessing at least one case of mobile phones being inspected.

 

December 4, 2024 - Comments Off on Government to block social media use by terrorists

Government to block social media use by terrorists

The Government of Pakistan’s National Action Plan (NAP) coordination committee, citing rising terrorist attacks within the country, declared that “comprehensive” steps would be taken to block the social media accounts of proscribed terrorist organisations, coupled with provincial-level blocking of the sales of illegally acquired mobile SIMs. Citing events in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , the NAP committee meeting urged the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and other government institutions to provide an “effective mechanism” to tackle the problem of social media accounts. The timing of the NAP coordination committee meeting, and coverage of its findings, however, has led critics to suggest that there may be more political motives, coupled with legal actions directed at the wife of Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, and the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, in the wake of the PTI protest march to Islamabad in late November.

December 3, 2024 - Comments Off on Government Forms “Fake News” Taskforce after PTI Protest March Deaths

Government Forms “Fake News” Taskforce after PTI Protest March Deaths

In the wake of the protest march by PTI supporters towards Islamabad in late November, and the subsequent government crackdowns and controversy concerning the number of deaths said to have occurred at the march The Government of Pakistan has constituted a joint task force to tackle “fake news”.

 

The goal of the taskforce would be, according to the Prime Minister’s Office, to “identify individuals/groups and organisations involved in creating and spreading fake and misleading news surrounding political miscreants in Islamabad from Nov 24-27, 2024, including entire media campaign related to the issue.”

 

To be headed by the head of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the taskforce will include at least eight members including the head of the FIA’s cybercrime division, Islamabad Police Chief, the IT director of the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication, the joint director of the Intelligence Bureau, and the joint secretaries of the Ministries of the Interior and Information, representatives from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence.

December 3, 2024 - Comments Off on FIA registers “First” Fake News Case

FIA registers “First” Fake News Case

The cybercrime division of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has registered what is being reported as its first formal case filed against a suspect specifically for “spreading fake and fabricated news online”, under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA), according to Pakistan’s SamaaTV. According to the FIA, the case was registered after an anonymous source reported discovering “fake news” and “anti-state” material on the accused’s X (formerly Twitter) account, allegedly connected to late November’s PTI protest march.

 

The “fake news” case has been registered amid government’s wider efforts to tackle “anti-state propaganda”. Last week, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif launched a joint task force to crackdown down on fake news. Furthermore, the Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja recently underscored government plans to amend PECA to “address concerns regarding misinformation”.

December 3, 2024 - Comments Off on Government plans to amend PECA, Pakistan’s Cybercrime Law

Government plans to amend PECA, Pakistan’s Cybercrime Law

In an ostensible attempt to tackle what Barrister Aqeel Malik, the legal advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, called “misinformation and negative propaganda”, the government of Pakistan plans to implement a “wholesale” change to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, the nation’s controversial cybercrime law. The “changes” would allow the government to “to block online content and access to social media” and to take legal action against people held responsible for “fake news”. The draft introduces Section 26(A), penalizing the dissemination of “fake news” with imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to one million rupees, or both. The draft also makes offences under Section 26(A) non-bailable, non-compoundable, and cognisable.

Dawn noted that one of the changes to the PECA that the government has in mind is a redefining of “social media platform”, which “has been expanded to now include tools and software used to access social media.” Should the amendments to the law be passed, this could potentially provide the government with legal grounds to ban VPNs, which a decision by the Ministry of Law and Justice shot down at the end of November.

In addition to changing the definition of “social media”, the creation of a Digital Rights Protection Authority (DRPA) was also proposed as part of the overhaul, meant to tackle issues such as “the removal of online content, prosecuting people for sharing or accessing prohibited content and action against social media platforms where such content is hosted.” The DRPA would ostensibly work to advise the government on “digital ethics and related fields”, and outline “time frames for social media companies to implement its orders and make provisions for these platforms to have offices or representatives in Pakistan.”

What that entails in practice, if indeed the amendments are made public and passed, however, remains to be seen.

December 2, 2024 - Comments Off on X/Twitter Remains Blocked due to “National Security”

X/Twitter Remains Blocked due to “National Security”

The social media platform X (Formerly Twitter) continues to be blocked in Pakistan, in the wake of Pakistan’s controversial February 2024 general election. Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Pakistan’s Minister for IT who had controversially blamed VPN for internet slowdowns in August 2024 (an explanation that received scepticism across the board), dismissed concerns that blocking X was a freedom of expression issue. The minister claimed that the block is necessary for national security reasons, as “Cybersecurity is the need of the hour” in her words, and that “only” 2 percent of the population used the platform – which includes members of the Government of Pakistan, such as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

December 1, 2024 - Comments Off on Second “Abducted” Journalist Returns Home

Second “Abducted” Journalist Returns Home

The Pakistani journalist and YouTuber Shakir Mehmood Awan, who was allegedly abducted from his home by law enforcement officers on November 28, returned home on Sunday. The Lahore High Court had ordered the police to release Mr. Awan by Monday (December 2nd), and had ordered the Inspector General of Police to appear in court, after Mr. Awan’s mother filed a habeas corpus petition. The IGP did not appear though summoned, with the Additional IGP appearing instead. The Lahore High Court also ordered that the CCTV evidence of the journalist’s abduction be recovered.