Cable Cut in Yemen Causes Slow Internet
ISLAMABAD : The National Assembly Standing Committee on IT and Telecom, was informed here on Thursday that the situation in Yemen was the reason of slow internet in the country.
Briefing the committee Secretary IT Zarar Hashim said that several submarine cables have been damaged off the coast of Yemen.
He added that two of those cables are connected to Pakistan, but companies had shifted bandwidth to alternative back-up cables.
“The restoration of these cables may take more than a month but the situation in the region could delay the efforts,” he said adding that repairing five cables too was serious work.
Chairman of the committee Syed Aminul Haque, inquired about the plans to reduce internet supply and demand gap in the country.
The officials informed that three new cables were coming in Pakistan within the next 12 to 18 months, providing Pakistan connectivity with Europe.
Agreements for bringing these three cables to Pakistan have already been signed.
During the meeting, Committee member Sadiq Memon inquired about the slow pace of work at the Islamabad IT park.
Secretary IT, Zarar Hashim, said that
Islamabad IT Park is being established with Korean funding.
A loan of $78 million has been provided for the project, which was approved in 2017 with a grace period of 10 years.
Pakistan is to repay the loan to Korea in 30 years at a concessional rate of 0.5 percent markup in easy installments.
The IT Park is aimed at bringing IT companies under one roof to boost exports.
The Islamabad Technology Park is being built to international standards. Both the Islamabad and Karachi IT Parks are being funded by Korea. However, the Standing Committee expressed displeasure with the company over delays in the project and directed the Ministry of IT to issue a formal letter of grievance.
Chairman of the Committee said the Ministry should write to the company to convey its dissatisfaction.
Briefing was given that before the project started, there had been heavy rains. Work on the Islamabad IT Park project began in 2022.
Due to the dollar crisis, imports remained suspended for six months. The project was also delayed because of duties and taxes, as the company kept demanding exemptions.
Committee members questioned why these issues had not been addressed at the time of the agreement.
The representative of the Korean company said that the government and the company had different interpretations of the matter.
The Project Director of the Islamabad IT Park said that in 13 months, 9 project managers had been changed. The company also demanded tax and duty relief for this reason.
The Chairman said the project was already delayed by eight months and asked if it would be completed by October 31.
It was noted that the project did not appear to be on track for completion by the deadline, which the Korean company’s representative also admitted.
The Chairman said that if the project was not completed by October 31, another letter of displeasure would be issued, and the company could even be blacklisted.
The deadline for the project is October 31, and it must be completed within this timeframe.
At the beginning of November, the Ministry should decide what action to take against the company.