PTA attributes internet disruption in Pakistan to submarine cable fault

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PTA attributes internet disruption in Pakistan to submarine cable fault
After receiving immense flak from netizens and information technology sector bodies over intermittent internet disruptions, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has finally commented on the issue linking it with a "fault in the undersea submarine cable".

"Submarine Consortium has informed [us] that the internet [services] are affected due to a fault in the submarine cable which will be resolved by August 27," PTA Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez-Ur-Rehman said while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on IT.

He added that seven fibre optic cables are connected with Pakistan of which one is damaged.

The PTA chief's remarks come in the wake of the prevailing internet slowdown and limited connectivity that experts and stakeholders have attributed to the purported testing of an internet firewall to rein in social media, which is equipped with filters to block unwanted content from reaching a wider audience.

However, the government has denied its involvement in the issue with State Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja blaming the use of virtual private networks (VPN) by internet users as the reason "their phones" slowed down.

"I can swear that the government of Pakistan did not block the internet or slow it down,” she said while speaking to the media last week.

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