The National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom recently convened to address recent reports regarding the shutdown of the social media firewall. During the session, the IT Secretary firmly dismissed these shutdown reports as entirely baseless and fake. TechJuice recently reported, citing official sources, that the government scrapped the social media firewall. The government reportedly raised Rs. 40 billion for this botched firewall that didn’t perform its intended function properly.
Instead of addressing the firewall directly, officials shifted the narrative toward a different system. The IT Secretary and the PTA Chairman insisted that the “Web Monitoring System” remains operational to protect digital boundaries and enforce court orders regarding social media. Furthermore, the PTA Chairman assured the committee that this monitoring system creates zero hurdles for the upcoming 5G spectrum auction.
During the meeting, Committee Member Sadiq Memon raised serious concerns regarding network stability. He complained about severe connectivity problems. In fact, he stated that regular mobile calls drop two to three times even inside the Parliament building. Memon openly questioned the effectiveness of the installed firewall. He asked if the system had completely failed to achieve its intended targets. Additionally, he inquired if an ongoing conflict exists between the firewall’s installation and the upcoming 5G spectrum auction.
However, the IT Secretary quickly shut down these concerns. He acknowledged the widespread social media rumors regarding the firewall’s deactivation. Yet, after conducting an investigation, he categorically labeled these claims as baseless and false. He confirmed that the Web Monitoring System remains actively installed and is functioning exactly as intended.
Following this, the Chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) defended the monitoring infrastructure. He stated that the Web Monitoring System actively protects Pakistan’s digital boundaries. Moreover, authorities use this system strictly to implement court orders regarding social media platforms. The PTA Chairman firmly asserted that the Web Monitoring System does not act as an obstacle or bottleneck for 5G or any other emerging technology.
A massive disconnect exists between the government’s official statements and the actual ground reality. The Web Monitoring System mentioned by the PTA Chairman has operated for nearly two decades primarily to block harmful websites.
Consequently, this legacy monitoring tool is completely different from the controversial Internet firewall. Extreme clarity still lacks from the government’s side. Ultimately, what the PTA Chairman discussed in the committee meeting differs entirely from what TechJuice previously reported.