Global Courant 2023-05-16 18:45:08
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI
Officials and market sources said on Tuesday that the ongoing disruption to internet and broadband services in Pakistan is causing $5 million in daily losses to the country’s IT sector.
Nationwide internet and broadband services are still interrupted a week after the government shut down services after violent protests across the country in response to the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
According to the Pakistan Software House Association, the outage brought $30 to $35 million into the country’s IT industry last week alone.
Zohaib Khan, President of Pakistan Software House Association, said in a statement to Anadolu Agency that the ongoing outages cause 5 to 6 million dollars in losses per day in the IT sector.
“If we count the losses suffered by freelancers, other sectors and tax authorities during this period, it will be a much larger figure.”
According to the association, more than 600,000 people in the country are directly related to the IT industry.
Confirming the figures, an official from the Ministry of Information Technologies said that the suspension of internet and broadband services to Anatolia, on condition of anonymity, has caused millions of dollars in losses to mobile phone companies, online taxi services, freelancers and others, excluding $100,000 per day. loss of income to the national treasury in the form of taxes.
Amin Ul Haque, Minister of Information Technology, acknowledged the losses caused by the shutdown of internet and broadband services, saying that the action damaged Pakistan’s global image.
The services were shut down on the directives of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he said on Tuesday.
According to Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, the percentage of broadband internet users in Pakistan is 49.08% – 108 million subscribers.
Action against insurgents under military law
The government of Pakistan’s largest province of Punjab on Tuesday approved actions by the military against protesters involved in last week’s violent protests.
The approval was given at a meeting chaired by interim Prime Minister Mohsin Naqvi in the provincial capital, Lahore.
The move comes a day after an angry Pakistani Army announced that “perpetrators” of attacks on military installations during protests will be prosecuted under the Army Act and Khan’s Official Secret Act, which has been criticized by Pakistan Tehreek-e-. Insaf (PTI) party.
According to the statement, the interim prime minister has instructed the authorities to “prioritize” interagency cooperation among all security agencies to effectively identify the “true criminals” responsible for terrorist acts.
Reacting to the military’s move, the PTI claimed that last week’s violence was “planned to target the party”.
The party said on Tuesday it has sufficient evidence to prove that security service personnel attacked and fired at certain locations.
Khan proposed the establishment of a judicial investigation to investigate the violent protests of May 9 and attacks on military installations and government buildings.
Although the statement by the army does not include the phrase “military courts”, a senior lawyer has made it clear that those arrested will be tried in a military court. state, causing injury or death to any person, instilling terror or distrust, and various other crimes.
But Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the government has yet to decide under which law violators will be prosecuted.
“We have no plans to ban PTI, but action will be taken against those who break the law,” Asif said, quoted by state-run Pakistan Radio.
Meanwhile, a counter-terrorism court in the northeastern city of Lahore summoned Khan on May 19 in a terrorism case.
Police accused Khan and other PTI leaders of attacking police teams and burning official property and vehicles during a protest outside his residence in Lahore last month.
Huge arrests across the country
PTI claimed that more than 7,000 of its supporters, including women, have been arrested across the country so far.
However, the government did not release any details about the number of arrests nationwide. Top leaders of the party were also arrested, including former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry.
Pakistan has plunged into violence last week after the former prime minister was arrested at the Islamabad High Court building on corruption allegations, as angry mobs attacked civilian and military facilities, including the home of the Lahore Corps Commander and the entrance to the army headquarters.
At least eight people were killed and more than 300 injured, including policemen, during the violent protests.
Contempt for parliamentary bill
The country’s lower house – the National Assembly – passed a bill on Tuesday authorizing parliament to prosecute any non-governmental or state official found to be involved in “contempt of Parliament”, state-run Pakistan Television reported.
The development coincides with the ongoing contention between the government and the top judiciary over a set of laws.
The Supreme Court last month blocked legislation aimed at restricting some of the Supreme Court’s core powers.
The bill “Contempt of Assembly-e-Shura (Parliament) 2023” will come into effect in case of violation or disobedience of orders given by parliament or a parliamentary committee.
A 24-member parliamentary committee will investigate charges against criminals and propose sentences to the spokesperson of the National Assembly or the president of the Senate.
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