Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram fired a broadside at the mandate stolen government for blocking Virtual Private Servers (VPN), calling it a blatant attempt to suppress freedom of expres-sion and access to information, which was unac-ceptable and intolerable. In a strongly-worded statement to denounce the government’s continued ban on X and its efforts to control VPNs, PTI CIS called upon the mandate thieves to focus on erecting firewall against the terrorist threats rather than suppressing social media users. Sheikh Waqas slammed the incompetent govern-ment for prioritizing social media control over com-bating terrorism, saying that instead of devising a robust strategy to tackle terrorists, the inept regime was utilizing all its energy to muzzle social media aimed at keeping citizens in the dark about their flawed policies and misdeeds.

He said that the so-called PM and his cronies were carrying begging bowls seeking alms globally but even than they squandered billions of rupees on installation of firewall to rein in social media rather than addressing the country’s mounting problems. Sheikh Waqas emphasized that the government should not install a geo-fencing firewall to target the social media users and political opponents but to the terrorists, who were now targeting innocent people on daily basis. PTI CIS lashed out at the government’s flawed ap-proach and wrong priorities, which, he said, could be judged from their lack of concern about future of the country and its people wellbeing because they stashed all their ill-gotten wealth abroad, as they just came to Pakistan to rule. He said that in this era of information technology, the government seemed determined on crippling the industry with its self-serving and agenda-driven policies, because the constant disruptions in internet service have devastating consequences for busi-nesses, particularly those in the tech sector, includ-ing IT companies, software houses, freelancers and banks.

He urged the government to ensure uninterrupted internet services and should not further plunge the country into a quagmire of problems. He went on to say that an alarming upsurged has been witnessed in terrorism in the country during the past two years, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives among civilians and military personnel. However, PTI CIS lamented that the apathy of the unelected regime evident from the fact that it used all resources and energies in intimidating, harassing and silencing the political opponents and the sane dissenting voices rather than addressing the escalat-ing terrorist threat. Sheikh Waqas called upon the government to revisit its approach and refix its priorities before the situa-tion spirals out of control.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan