PAKISTAN has been ranked 27th out of 100 — ‘Not Free’ — in terms of internet freedom by a global democracy watchdog in a recent report, which cited government measures to expand censorship practices. During June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025, the report issued by the US-based Freedom House noted that the authorities threatened to block virtual private networks (VPNs) and adopted amendments to the country’s cybercrime law that rights groups said could be abused. On the other hand, countries like India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are markedly more open, classified as ‘Partly Free’, with much higher freedom scores of 51, 53, and 45, respectively.
Regulation is something else but suppression is something quite different and this poor ranking of the country is mainly because of the wrong approaches aimed at controlling not only views but also smooth evolution of technology. It is this trend that keeps the Internet frequently off in different parts of the country on various pretext inflicting immeasurable loss on individual activities and national economy. The report noted that Pakistanis reported periods of poor internet quality and disruptions to their access to WhatsApp, Signal, and other platforms throughout the coverage period. Researchers found that the connectivity disruptions were likely linked to the deployment of new website monitoring and blocking technology. It is also relevant to point out that Pakistan has one of the slowest Internet speeds in the world. Pakistan has the potential to make strides in IT but such issues damage the global reputation of the country and therefore, should be sorted out through a coordinated approach by all stakeholders.
