KARACHI: President Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) Iftikhar Ahmed Sheikh, while expressing deep concern over slow internet connectivity and the subsequent faults as well as limited access to social media applications, said that although it was assured that the internet connectivity would normalise upon installation of safety firewall but the issue persists which has resulted in affecting all types of business activities badly.
The KCCI chief said that the Karachi Chamber has been receiving a large number of complaints from its member-firms who were finding it really hard to get connected with their clients across the country and also abroad via various social media platforms particularly WhatsApp since almost a week.
“We stayed in constant touch with various telecommunication service providers who assured that the connectivity would improve soon but the problem persists to date and it seems it’s going to take more time,” he added.
He said that due to slow internet connectivity and faulty social media apps, members of the business community were finding it almost impossible to get quotes and sought other documentations from their international vendors and buyers which was like to cause severe financial losses.
“At this point in time, it is very difficult to give a precise figure but keeping in view the unnecessary delays, the losses are going to be grave.”
Iftikhar Sheikh said that freelancers in the IT sector, who have been working remotely for foreign companies from Pakistan, were also facing severe problems in completing their work on time because of unnecessary delays in restoring internet connectivity which requires immediate attention.
“In the era of digitalisation, Pakistan cannot afford such delays in restoring internet connectivity which must be restored at the earliest otherwise, such delays, in addition to giving financial losses, also send a very negative message to the rest of the world about Pakistan,” he added.
“Our freelancers and IT professionals, who are playing a major role in earning the desperately needed foreign exchange for the country, should not be deprived on basic needs for carrying out their work,” he said while urging the Ministry of Information Technology & Telecommunication and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to look into this serious matter and expedite the process for fully restoring internet connectivity across Pakistan.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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