Government official urges Pakistanis to “use internet less” in response to slow internet speeds

People should “use the internet less” and for “important matters only”, said Parliamen­tary Secretary for Cabinet Secretariat Sajid Mehdi, speaking with Dawn News, as a proposed solution to recent internet slowdowns. Mr. Mehdi compared the internet to a road, remarking that the more users that were on the internet, the slower it would become, much like a congested road. The Parliamentary Secretary also cited the low capacity of Pakistan’s fibre network – 15%, compared to India’s 45% – as another key factor. His comments arrive in a climate of Pakistanis experiencing lagging internet speeds for the past few months, which has caused major financial losses as noted by P@SHA, Pakistan’s trade body for the IT sector. When told that the parliament had been informed of these losses, he responded, “We have not been told officially that the shutdown has caused financial losses. Nobody has filed any requests or complaints about financial losses.”