Efforts Underway to Bring Elon Musk’s Starlink to Pakistan, IT Minister Shaza Fatima Reveals

Islamabad:Minister of State for Information Technology (IT), Shaza Fatima, has revealed that the government is working on bringing Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, to Pakistan. This announcement came during a Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom meeting in Islamabad.

Fatima informed the committee that the government is also considering amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to address the growing concern of fake news regulation. She highlighted the technical challenges behind slow internet speeds in the country, noting that internet usage has increased significantly, but no major investments have been made in the IT sector in the past three years. She also mentioned that the 5G spectrum auction is expected to take place in April.

Siddiqui Sajad, Chairman of the Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA), shared with the committee that the IT industry in Pakistan is growing at a rate of 30% annually. He also warned of security risks related to free VPN services and suggested that the government should consider registering VPNs locally to mitigate data security issues.

Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), while briefing the committee, confirmed that the licensing process for VPNs will begin on January 1st. However, committee members raised concerns about the overall slow internet speed in Pakistan, with Senator Ploosha Khan questioning why internet speed continues to be sluggish despite various measures.

Senator Anusha Rehman referred to previous efforts in 2018 to regulate VPNs, which did not affect internet speed, and stressed that further investigation into the reasons behind the current internet issues was necessary.

In response to questions regarding internet shutdowns, Fatima stated that while she could not discuss security matters in detail, the government would only take such measures if absolutely necessary. She assured that, at present, the internet was functioning smoothly.

The discussion also touched on national security concerns, with Senator Afnanullah asking about any terrorists using VPNs, to which Minister Fatima declined to comment on security-related matters, reiterating that internet shutdowns would only be implemented if required for security reasons.