Islamabad, Dec 18 (PTI) The Pakistan government on Wednesday acknowledged in the parliament that internet users were suffering due to slow speed and assured that the issue was being addressed, as lawmakers raised concerns over the internet disruptions.

Pakistanis in recent months have experienced sluggish speeds, difficulty downloading media on WhatsApp, and other related problems. The X was closed in February and can be accessed only through a VPN.

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“We do not deny that there have been challenges in user experience in the last couple of months,” Minister of State for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said on the floor of the National Assembly. “But there are certain realities that we have to consider. There is a need to correct perceptions.”

The minister stated that the average internet speed had improved by 28 per cent, citing an annual report by the Pakistan Telecommu­nication Authority (PTA) for 2023-24.

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She said there were challenges, including congestion of the internet, spectrum availability issues, and less than 2pc “fiberisation” (use of optical fibre cables) in the country.

She said Pakistan's internet runs at 274 megahertz, which provided limited accessibility and the government was trying to enhance spectrum density to the level of the region's top ten countries, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Khawaja said the issue was being addressed and four more under-sea cables would be laid down in the next two years to improve internet connectivity and speed.

She reiterated that social media platform X had been banned based on the directives and concerns of the interior ministry. “The ministry of IT, to be honest, does not have a direct role in it,” she said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)