There was a time when internet outages were treated as passing irritants. Today, the stakes are far higher. In a country where over 2.3 million freelancers rely on stable connectivity, where IT exports are touted as the growth engine, and where schoolchildren log on to learn, the internet has become the nervous system of daily life.
And yet Pakistan stumbles into another prolonged disruption. Officials blame damaged submarine cables off Yemen, saying repairs will take weeks. Industry insiders, meanwhile, are back to whispers about testing of a national firewall–suspicions the government has repeatedly denied, albeit later tacitly acknowledged as part of “cybersecurity measures.” That inconsistency alone deepens mistrust.
Thankfully, there is no nationwide blackout today. Platforms like X, once banned, remain accessible. The reality is, however, scarcely better. Internet speeds are among the slowest in the world. Pakistan ranks 143rd out of 152 for broadband, with median speeds barely 16 Mbps. For freelancers competing globally, a frozen Zoom call is as damaging as a power cut. Businesses reported drops of 30-40 per cent during “firewall tests.” In practice, throttled speeds hit just as hard as outright bans.
Pakistan lost $1.62 billion in 2024 to shutdowns and throttling. NetBlocks estimates that each full blackout costs over $50 million per day, and even partial slowdowns drain millions. The irony is glaring: while Islamabad sets a five-year target of $15 billion in IT exports, its own policies throttle the very sector it hopes will deliver growth.
Neighbouring Afghanistan offers a cautionary tale. The Taliban have banned fibre-optic internet in several provinces, forcing people to rely on patchy mobile data. Pakistan is nowhere near that dystopia, yet repeated disruptions and creeping surveillance create a resemblance it cannot afford. Governance by disruption must not become our brand.
Solutions exist. Satellite services like Starlink are ready, but approvals are trapped in regulatory turf wars. Why should citizens wait when the technology is available? Meanwhile, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja continues to talk up 5G rollouts. But how credible is talk of 5G when even video calls collapse under today’s bandwidth?
The choice before policymakers is stark. Continue down the path of control and opacity, or build resilience and trust. The first may muzzle dissent for a moment; the second is the only way to build a credible digital economy. For once, Pakistan must choose the harder, better road.
