The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) stated in a press release on Thursday that the implementation of a national firewall might cause internet outages that cost the nation’s economy up to $300 million.
An internet firewall is being installed by the government to control and monitor social media and content. The use of the firewall for censorship is denied by the government.
The installation of the firewall, according to P@SHA senior vice chairman Ali Ihsan, has already resulted in protracted internet outages and irregular VPN performance, raising the possibility of a “total collapse of business operations.”
“These disruptions are not just minor setbacks; rather, they represent a direct, concrete, and determined attack on the industry’s sustainability, resulting in estimated and catastrophic financial losses of up to $300 million, with potential for exponential growth,” he stated in the release.
Shaza Fatima Khawaja, the minister of state for information technology, did not answer right away. She stated earlier this month that firewalls will not be used by the government as a means of censorship.
After a crackdown and ban on social networking platform X, the government has already barred access to it since the February elections, in which the PTI won the most seats.
According to the authorities, the blocking was done to put an end to X’s anti-state activities and his disregard for local Pakistani laws. Human rights advocates claim that the country’s democratic accountability and critical voices are being suppressed by the blockage of X.
The government’s lack of openness over the firewall, according to P@SHA’s statement, has “ignited a firestorm of distrust” among internet users and Pakistan’s international IT clients, who worry that their private and confidential information may be exposed.
In addition to requesting a “immediate and unconditional halt to this digital siege,” P@SHA urged the government to collaborate with business to create a cybersecurity system.
In June, the nation exported $298 million worth of IT, a 33% increase over the same month last year. IT exports totaled $3.2 billion in the fiscal year that concluded in June, a 24 percent increase from $2.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023.
