IT minister claims Govt not behind internet slowdown in the country

Islamabad: Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja has said that a digitization Commission is being established for digitization of economy.

Addressing a news conference on Sunday in Islamabad, she claimed that IT exports have witnessed an increasing trend due to the measures taken by Special Investment Facilitation Council.    

Talking about the recent slowdown of internet, she denied the involvement of the government as the reason behind the recent internet slowdown across the country.

However, the minister blamed the use of virtual private network (VPN) by internet users as the reason of slowed down.

"I can swear that the government of Pakistan did not block the internet or slow it down," said Khawaja while addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, acknowledging the public's outrage over the intermittent internet issues.

The minister said that the government talked to experts and tried to figure out the situation day and night.

She added that some applications were not downloading so people used VPN. "Turning VPN on slows down the phone."

The minister maintained she is in contact with IT authorities regarding internet issues. "There will be a meeting on the issue of Internet next week as well.'