• Repairs may take over a month, IT secretary tells NA committee
• Three new internet cables to link Pakistan with Europe in 12-18 months
• S. Korean-funded Islamabad IT Park faces delays, NA panel warns of blacklisting
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom was informed on Thursday that damaged submarine cables off the coast of Yemen were behind the recent slowdown of internet services in Pakistan.
IT Secretary Zarar Hashim briefed the committee that several cables had been affected, two of which are directly connected to Pakistan.
He said companies had shifted bandwidth to alternative back-up systems but warned that repairs could take more than a month, with the regional situation likely to cause further delays. He added that repairing five cables at once was a serious technical challenge.
Committee Chairman Syed Aminul Haque asked about long-term measures to close the supply-demand gap in internet connectivity. Officials said three new submarine cables, linking Pakistan with Europe, were expected within the next 12 to 18 months. Agreements for these had already been signed, they added.
During the meeting, committee member Sadiq Memon also raised concerns over delays at the Islamabad IT Park project.
The secretary said the Islamabad IT Park was being established with South Korean funding under a $78 million loan agreement, approved in 2017 with a 10-year grace period.
Pakistan is to repay the loan over 30 years at a concessional rate of 0.5 per cent. The park is aimed at bringing IT companies under one roof to boost exports, and both the Islamabad and Karachi projects are being supported by South Korea.
However, the standing committee expressed displeasure at the slow progress and directed the ministry to issue a formal letter of grievance. The committee chairman said that the ministry should convey its dissatisfaction to the company in writing. Officials explained that the project, which began in 2022, had faced multiple delays due to heavy rains, a dollar crisis that suspended imports for six months, and disputes over tax and duty exemptions demanded by the company.
Committee members questioned why these issues had not been addressed at the time of the agreement.
The project director told the committee that nine project managers had been changed in just 13 months, adding to the delays. A representative of the Korean company acknowledged differences with the government over tax interpretations and conceded that the project was behind schedule.
The chairman noted the project was already eight months overdue and questioned whether it would be completed by the Oct 31 deadline. The Korean representative admitted the timeline was unlikely to be met.
The chairman warned that if the project was not finished by the end of October, another letter of displeasure would be issued.
Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2025