DIGITAL PAKISTAN MONITOR – October 2024
A monthly report on trends relating to digital rights, policies, practices & media
Tracking: Internet and digital policies and regulations
Digitalization in governance and socio-economic domains
Digital rights violations and protections
Digital rights advocacy and defense
Digital media and online free speech
Vol. 5, No. 10 – October 2024 Edition
Produced by Freedom Network – www.fnpk.org
SECTION 1: Internet and digital policies and regulations
- Federal and provincial governments (ministries and departments)
- Internet regulators
- Media regulators
- Telecom regulators
- Internet access / connectivity
PTA indicates resolution to internet slowdown issues by end of October
Date: October 2, 2024 – Source 1: The News, Source 2: Business Recorder (BR)
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeezur Rehman said that the authority had no ability to slow sown the internet and the problem would end by the end of October.
Parliamentary panel questions slow progress in 5G spectrum auction
Date: October 2, 2024 – Source 1: The News, Source 2: Express Tribune
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication expressed concerns over the slow progress of 5G spectrum auction and directed the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication to expedite the hiring of consultants.
Internet users face disruption in several cities
Date: October 6, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Internet slowdown was experienced by users in various parts of Pakistan, primarily due to overloading. The country had already been facing low bandwidth due to the upgradation of the Web Management System (WMS), commonly referred to as an ‘internet firewall’.
Mobile users in multiple cities face service disruption
Date: October 11, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Users of the Zong cellular company faced disruptions to mobile and data services in multiple cities reportedly due to the installation of a new web management system (WMS).
Hearing in PTCL-Telenor merger ends amid rivals’ opposition
Date: October 25, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Reiterating their concerns over the proposed acquisition of Telenor Pakistan by PTCL, Jazz and Wateen informed a bench of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) that the combined entity would be able to manipulate tariff structures at their discretion.
Telecommunication firms dear negative impact on competition
Date: October 25, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
Telecommunication operators Jazz, Wateen and Zong voiced concern over the potential negative impact of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited’s (PTCL) acquisition of 100 per cent holding in Telenor Pakistan and Orion Towers, saying that the deal could distort market competition.
SECTION 2: Digital rights advocacy and defense
- Pakistan-based citizens and civil society organizations
- Independent international digital rights organizations
- UN and global multilateral organizations
- Governmental and other sources
UN rights body concerned at internet/social media blackouts in Pakistan
Date: October 19, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Digital Rights Monitor (DRM)
The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) called the Committee on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) on rights violations and raised concerns at the social media surveillance, internet and social media blackouts to maneuver general elections, religious intolerance and curbs on media outlets.
SECTION 3: Digital rights violations and protections
- Citizens and netizens – including case studies
- Media, journalists and other information practitioners
- Online free speech
- Online access to information
- Privacy violations
- Data protection
- Surveillance
- Misinformation / disinformation / fake news
- Cybercrime
Survey: ‘Spamming rates low in Pakistan’
Date: October 2, 2024 – Source: The News
Although the rate of people worried about spamming or irrelevant advertisements on e-mail is low in Pakistan yet spamming has emerged as an important problem in the overall opinion of 39 countries of the world, a survey by Gallup Pakistan (GP) and the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN) revealed.
PTA claims X shutdown decision rests with government
Date: October 2, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Major General (retired) Hafeezur Rehman stated that the authority will unblock social media platform X (formerly Twitter) whenever the federal government directs.
X ‘mostly refused’ Pakistan government’s requests for takedown
Date: October 9, 2024 – Source: Dawn
An official of the federal government told the Sindh High Court (SHC) that social media platform X rejected several requests made by Pakistan for content removal as it found the posts not to be violating its terms and conditions.
Death penalty awarded to suspect for blasphemy, cybercrime
Date: October 13, 2024 – Source: Dawn
A special court handed death sentence and life imprisonment to a resident of Gujjar Khan on charges of blasphemy and cybercrime. The case highlights the intersection of blasphemy laws and cybercrime legislation in the country.
TikTok removes over 30 million videos from Pakistan
Date: October 16, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Express Tribune
Social media application TikTok removed over 30 million videos originating from Pakistan during the second quarter of the ongoing year. TikTok also released its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, shedding light on the platform’s proactive approach to content moderation in Pakistan.
FIA identifies journalists, TikTokers for spreading ‘fake’ rape story
Date: October 18, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) carried out province-wide raids for the arrest of some journalists, lawyers, TikTokers and arrested three of them for spreading ‘alleged’ rape story of a private girls’ college student which incited students to hold violent protests.
Lahore High Court full bench to hear cases on girls’ harassment, fake viral videos
Date: October 19, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: Express Tribune, Source 3: Pakistan Today
Lahore High Court (LHC) Chef Justice Aalia Neelum expressed her displeasure over the failure of authorities to remove a viral video, based on ‘misinformation’ about an alleged rape involving a female student of a private college, from social media.
Date: October 25, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The National Cyber Crime and Investigation Authority (NCCIA) appeared to have landed in limbo, with the authorities apparently unsure about what purpose they expect to see it fulfill. According to a news report, the government had formally repealed the rules devised to govern the body.
PTA clarifies statement on discontinuation of internet traffic monitoring services
Date: October 28, 2024 – Source: Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced that telecommunication operators in Pakistan discontinued using Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) services in 2023. The services, which used to block unauthorized content on the internet, were halted following public concerns.
SECTION 4: Digitalization
- Digitalization in governance sectors / e-governance
- Digitalization in social and development sectors
- Digitalization in business and commercial sectors
Pakistan’s tax authority revamps top hierarchy to speed up digitalization
Date: October 3, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) re-designated the functions of senior tax officers as part of a restructuring to simplify functions and accelerate digitalization.
300 robotic surgeries performed at JPMC in Karachi
Date: October 6, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
As many as 300 operations have been performed during the first year of robotic surgery at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), according to the hospital’s Executive Director Professor Shahid Rasool.
Information technology parks set to become hub of innovation in Pakistan
Date: October 9, 2024 – Source 1: Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Source 2: Express Tribune
With digital growth going through a rapid evolution, Pakistan is inching towards establishing a vibrant network of state-of-the-art information technology (IT) parks to provide young professionals with a launching pad to execute their innovative ideas and contribute to the national economy efficiently.
Sindh’s UgAi application to combat fertilizer price distortion
Date: October 9, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
Sindh Minister for Agriculture Sardar Mohammad Bux Khan Mahar announced that the UgAi application will tackle issues such as artificial shortages, price distortions, and counterfeit products, which have severely impacted both small and progressive growers across the province.
Digital payments to wrap up paper-based banking in Pakistan
Date: October 12, 2024 – Source: Dawn
Digital payments reaching 84 per cent of the overall payment ecosystem, have practically reached close to wrapping up paper-based banking in Pakistan. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) released its annual report, highlighting the significant advancements in the national payment ecosystem during 2023-24.
Information technology boost for economic growth
Date: October 14, 2024 – Source: The News
These are major barriers to the growth of Pakistan’s information technology (IT) industry. They lead to low use of IT services. Coupled with lack of digital literacy, they curb demand and limit market size. For the industry to scale up, it is important to expand the domestic market.
Date: October 16, 2024 – Source: The News
The artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem must commit to a culture where innovation and responsibility are equally valued, ensuring that the obligation to integrate safety, fairness, and shared prosperity is not incidental but a compulsion.
RDA launches digital application to prevent property fraud
Date: October 19, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) introduced a new digital application to safeguard property buying, selling, and transfer transactions from fraud and deception across 13 housing schemes under its administration in the city.
Cross-border payments between Pakistan and Arab states go live
Date: October 19, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) announced that the country had achieved a key milestone by enabling payments in Pakistani rupees between Pakistan and Arab countries through the integration of Raast, the instant payment system, with the Arab Monetary Fund’s (AMF) Buna platform.
Pakistan’s first data fest kicks off in Islamabad
Date: October 21, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) was set to host Pakistan’s first-ever data festival in Islamabad. The event will bring together experts, researchers and data enthusiasts from diverse fields to explore the critical role of data in shaping policies and driving innovation for a better future.
Polio drive: Missed children data to be digitized for follow-up
Date: October 26, 2024 – Source: Dawn
The Punjab Emergency Operations Center (EOC) announced that the province will digitalize the data of missed children so that they are followed up and vaccinated in every campaign.
Pakistan’s mobile phone production surges
Date: October 26, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: Pakistan Today
Pakistan’s mobile phone industry achieved a significant milestone by producing 22.59 million mobile devices in the first nine months of 2024. Out of this total, 13.86 million were smartphones, while 8.73 million were 2G handsets, marking a continued shift towards smartphones produced in the country.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to launch electronic Jaidad Card
Date: October 29, 2024 – Source 1: Dawn, Source 2: The News, Source 3: Business Recorder (BR)
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur decided to launch an electronic Jaidad Card as part of the ongoing land record reforms in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. An official handout stated that this initiative was aimed at providing residents with easy and secure access to land records.
The flip face of artificial intelligence
Date: October 29, 2024 – Source: The News
Though artificial intelligence (AI) offers immense potential for empowerment and innovation, it also presents challenges, particularly in the form of technologies like ‘deep fakes’, which disproportionately target women.
Government to roll out smart classrooms to improve digital education
Date: October 30, 2024 – Source: The News
The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training decided to improve digital education for girls in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan regions by introducing smart classrooms, insisting that the initiative will enhance educational opportunities for girls in marginalized communities.
Prime Minister champions AI-driven future
Date: October 30, 2024 – Source: Express Tribune
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for collective global efforts and partnerships to overcome the contemporary challenges, emphasizing on Pakistan’s commitment to excelling in artificial intelligence (AI) and associated initiatives.
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OBJECTIVES: This series of monthly report aims to:
- Track developments revolving around the framework of digitalization in Pakistan including policy and advocacy on digital rights, policy enforcements and digital rights violations, covering viewpoints of government, civil society, human rights community including digital rights campaigners, media, citizen journalists and other information practitioners, and regulators of electronic media, internet and telecom sectors, and netizens.
- Monitor the interface between digital rights and Pakistan’s overall legal framework and how developments around them impact freedom of expression and access to information online as well as diversity and pluralism in Pakistan’s digital landscape, cyberspace and internet domains.
- Follow developments around the themes of digital rights, freedom of expression, access to information, privacy, surveillance, data protection, access to internet services, telecom policies, etc.
INFORMATION SOURCES: This report monitors, among others, the following sources of information:
- Government: Federal and provincial cabinets
- Ministries: Related ministries, including Information and Broadcasting, Information Technology (IT) and Telecom, Human Rights, Science and Technology, Commerce and Industry, etc.
- Legislatures: Senate, National Assembly, provincial assemblies, relevant standing committees
- Regulators: Pakistan telecommunications Authority (PTA), Pakistan Electronic Media regulatory Authority (PEMRA), Press Council of Pakistan (PPC), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), etc.
- Global organizations: UN/Unesco, International Media Support (IMS), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), etc.
- National organizations: Digital Rights Foundation (DRF), BoloBhi, Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD), Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), etc.
- Media: Dawn, The News, Express Tribune, The Nation, Pakistan Today, The Friday Times, etc.
- Social Media:Facebook, Twitter, etc.
- Local networks: Journalists Safety Hubs Network, Alliance on Diversity & Pluralism in Media, etc.
- Research groups: Gallup Pakistan, IPSOS Pakistan, etc.
