RECENT press reports indicated that the ‘firewall’ that was set up in Pakistan in 2024 by the government was being rolled back due to its impact on the quality of internet services in the country. However, when the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom met on Feb 26, the secretary of the IT & telecom ministry clarified that the firewall was not being shut down and was fully functional, as reports suggested soon after rumours started making the rounds on the media. These events are taking place at a time of heightened digital surveillance and censorship; frequent Peca (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) cases against journalists, lawyers, political workers and academics; and cyberattacks on Pakistani media infrastructure.

Foremost is the issue of transparency related to internet infrastructure in Pakistan. The Web Monitoring System installed in 2018 became public knowledge after press reports and leaks rather than any official confirmation by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and IT ministry. Similarly, since 2023, knowledge of the upgradation of the WMS, often referred to as the firewall, had to be investigated by the media and international organisations, and only upon being questioned by the parliamentary committees and by some journalists, would the IT minister and PTA chair give bits of information. It is such opacity and lack of proactive disclosures — something that all public authorities are bound to make since the inclusion of Article 19-A in the Constitution that relates to the public’s right to information........

© Dawn