Hashtag(s): #Internet, #ElonMusk, #InternetAccess.
Starlink, the satellite internet network owned by Elon Musk, could be coming to Pakistan,
according to an X/Twitter conversation between Musk and a Pakistani X user, and which
has been picked up by Pakistani news outlets. When asked by the X user over the weekend
to bring Starlink to Pakistan, Musk replied, via his own account, that “We are awaiting for
approval from the government”. This appears to be borne out by IT Minister Shaza Fatima,
who responded, when asked by journalists at Starlink, that “It is registered, and the
licensing is in process.”
Given frequent internet shutdowns, as well as ongoing issues with internet infrastructure
in Pakistan, calls for Starlink to come to Pakistan, as a means of bypassing these issues, are
on the surface understandable. Starlink, however, has proven to be controversial, with
access in Ukraine being temporarily halted for political reasons, as well as in Gaza.