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Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) officers have acknowledged that the regulatory physique was unable to dam Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
The disclosure was made throughout a gathering of the Senate Committee on Information Technology, chaired by Senator Palwasha Mohammadzai Khan held in Islamabad on Thursday.
During the briefing, officers from the Pakistan Software Export Board revealed that Pakistan’s share within the world IT market is lower than 0.04%.
Despite this, the nation skilled a 20% progress in IT final yr.
The IT sector’s exports are primarily directed to the USA (54%), Europe (21%), and Gulf international locations (10%).
Additionally, the board introduced the launch of the iRozgar programme, aimed toward creating job alternatives at a value of 1 billion rupees.
The PTA’s Enforcement Member reported on disruptions to web site visitors brought on by a minimize within the SMW4 optical fibre cable close to Karachi on June 18, 2024.
The subject has but to be absolutely resolved, with ongoing work to restore it.
The AA-E1 submarine cable has additionally skilled issues, with repairs anticipated to be accomplished by August 27.
The PTA operates seven cables with a median capability of three.5 terabytes, which might attain 7.5 terabytes at evening.
The PTA officers additionally famous that Twitter was blocked following directions from the Ministry of Interior as a result of non-compliance with content material laws.
They additionally acknowledged that with out VPNs, sure companies can’t be accessed in Pakistan.
The PTA can not management or block all VPNs as doing so would negatively impression companies.
The committee has requested a timeline for the restore of submarine cables and has adjourned the session till additional discover.
