We will open X when government says so: Chairman PTA

Major General (retd) Hafiz Rahman, the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), stated that they will comply and open the platform X (formerly Twitter) as soon as the government instructs them to do so.

Speaking in Islamabad, the PTA Chairman said that if the government or the Ministry of Interior directs them to close X, they cannot question that order; they are obliged to follow it. “The day the government tells us, we will open it,” he asserted.

Major General (retd) Hafiz Rahman pointed out that people can search online to see when and how often the internet has been shut down in Asia.

In 2022, the internet was suspended 24 times in India, while it happened only once in Pakistan.

In 2023, India experienced 116 internet shutdowns, and he asked how many days the internet was down in France during a recent incident.

He noted that in the last elections in Bangladesh, the internet was also shut down. While he does not support such actions, he acknowledged that every country has security concerns, and national security is a necessity that the government has to consider.

He mentioned that data is currently unavailable in Panjgur and suggested that inquiries on this matter should be directed to the relevant corps commander and the Ministry of Interior. “Whenever we are told, we will open it,” he said, emphasizing that decisions related to national security are made by the government and the Ministry of Interior.

Hafiz Rahman added that they have a complaint mechanism in place and receive daily complaints. When social media violations occur, they review these under the PECA law and other relevant laws. Social media websites cooperate with them, achieving 93% compliance.

He stated that to date, no security agency has written to them requesting a social media or internet shutdown. Such decisions are made either by court orders or directives from the Ministry of Interior.

He recalled that when the MD CAT tests were conducted, they were instructed to suspend internet service, which they refused to do. Similarly, when the head of the FPSC requested an internet shutdown, they also declined.

The PTA Chairman mentioned that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) asked them to block SIM cards, but as a regulator, they also rejected that request.

He noted that the Finance Minister summoned them, where they presented their stance, which led to some dissatisfaction.

Subsequently, an arrangement was made between the FBR and telecom companies to handle the matter.

He stated that they also rejected a recent request to link mobile SIMs to identification cards.

He further mentioned that the auction for 5G technology in April is expected to resolve many issues.

Additionally, the completion of fiberization will also alleviate problems. He noted that India has spent $13 billion on fiber installation in the last five years, and Pakistan is now preparing a national fiberization plan.

A Chinese company is currently in Pakistan, and improvements in fiberization are expected next year, while work on 5G is in advanced stages.