-
-
Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Division, Syed Sajid Mehdi, suggested that people in Pakistan should “use the internet less” and only for “important matters” as a solution to the frequent internet slowdowns in Pakistan.
Speaking to a private news channel, Mehdi compared the internet in Pakistan to a congested road, stating that as more people use it, the slower it becomes.
“There are large loads on our internet, [just] like on a congested road,” he said. “Cars move slower if there is congestion. If 10 people use a road meant for five, it will slow everything down,” he explained.
Mehdi further pointed out that Pakistan’s fibre network only has 15 percent capacity compared to India’s 45 percent, which contributes to slower internet speeds.
However, he assured that work was underway to resolve the issue and would be completed “very quickly.”
While responding to a question about the impact of population growth on internet speeds, Mehdi agreed, saying that more users inevitably lead to slower speeds.
“Like I said, if more people use the roads then of course it will slow down,” Mehdi answered, while predicting that the issue would be resolved in three to four months and recommended limiting internet usage to essential tasks like work, rather than “unnecessary” browsing.
“I’m not saying stop using it, but use it only for important purposes like work, and not for unnecessary purposes,” he said.
Regarding claims from the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) about financial losses caused by slow internet, Mehdi dismissed the notion, stating that no official complaints had been filed regarding financial damages caused by the internet slowdowns.
He stated that if there were personal losses, they would be handled separately.
It is pertinent to mention here that the internet users in Pakistan have experienced slow speeds, difficult downloading media on WhatsApp, and intermittent connectivity issues across the country.
According to Sajjad Mustafa Syed, Chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@sha), Pakistan’s IT industry faces a loss of more than $1 million due to the internet disruption for one hour, impacting exports and client confidence.
Speaking to the media, Chairman P@sha stated that the authorities in Pakistan have acknowledged that they cannot ban Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as there is no law to do so.
He highlighted that consistent internet slowdowns and unplanned outages severely hinder IT service exports, creating long-term repercussions.
“An hour of poor connectivity may seem trivial locally, but it damages critical services for clients in stock markets, airports, and banks globally, eroding trust in Pakistan’s IT sector,” he explained.
Source: Dawn
