Joint Statement on Internet Disruption in Pakistan (May 10, 2023) We, the undersigned members of the Pakistani business community and civil society, are deeply troubled by and condemn the recently reported and ongoing use of partial and complete Internet shutdowns, as well as targeted content and App blocking, following the nationwide protests on 9th May 2023 amid the political conflict. Such shutdowns and blocking or filtering of Internet services unjustifiably limit the rights of peaceful assembly and freedoms of association and expression, especially when such actions lack the principle of necessity and proportionality as well as procedural fairness and transparency. Government’s blocking or hindering Internet connectivity like blanket shutdowns undermines constitutional rights and fundamental freedoms, including access to critical information during conflict, the right to peaceful assembly and freedoms of association and expression that form the basis of a democratic society. Tens of millions of Pakistanis rely on Internet dependent services to connect with each other and to undertake essential business activities. By blocking, filtering, or shutting down these services, the Government is eroding civic space; fostering a climate of economic uncertainty and disrupting access to healthcare, emergency services and financial services. Such Internet disruptions have a very negative impact on Pakistani startups, which attracted more than $700 million in investment during 2022 and 2023 and are playing a critical role in promoting entrepreneurship, job creation, and digitization across the economy. The affectees also include the hundreds and thousands of freelancers and digital creators. In addition, Pakistan earned around $2 Billion in IT exports during 2022, a critical source of funding for a country that is struggling to meet its foreign exchange needs. The FY2022-23 target set by the PM and IT Minister is $5 Billion. We emphatically call on the Government of Pakistan to immediately lift restrictions intended to disrupt or prevent the citizens from accessing and disseminating information online and from communicating safely and securely. Moving forward, we also call on the Pakistani authorities to refrain from imposing partial or complete Internet shutdowns and blocking or filtering of services and to respect Pakistan’s international human rights obligations, including under articles 19, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). We also urge the Government to recognise Internet access as a basic fundamental right which can’t be taken away arbitrarily. This was recognised by the United Nations as far back as 2011 when the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression stated that all member states have an obligation to ensure unrestricted access to the Internet. It is only when we understand the issue of Internet access as one of fundamental human rights can we take measures to ensure access on an equal and non-discriminatory basis. Signatories (since 9th May, 2023 and increasing by the hour) Name Company Title 1 Aatif Awan Indus Valley Capital Founder 2 Akif Malik PodiumVC Founding Partner 3 Ali Oosman Endeavor Pakistan CEO/MD 4 Aly Fahd Paklaunch Founder 5 Amin Adil Qazi ArchVersa architecture President 6 Anoosha Shaigan Courting The Law COO, Editor 7 Anum Kamran Buyon.pk Founder 8 Anwar Kabir Brand Spectrum President 9 Asfandyar Farrukh Urban Brands Managing Director 10 Asim Ajmal Tekrowe Digital COO 11 Atif Ikram Arizona State University Finance Professor 12 Atif Sami Unity Retail CEO 13 Badar Khushnood Fishry / Bramerz Co-Founder 14 Cynia Ejaz Daftarkhwan Manager Partnerships & Community 15 Farukh Awais Samsung Electronics America Inc. Director of Sales and Buss. Dev 16 Fatima Asad-Said Abacus Consulting Technology Limited CEO 17 Fawad Hussain Markaz Technologies Founder / CTO 18 Haider Shishmahal Pixelart Games Academy Director 19 Hisham Malik Arkhitech CEO 20 Huma Khan BookMySpot Founder 21 Ibrahim bokhari Farmdar Co-Founder 22 Imran Ali Khan EMPG CEO 23 Jai Vankwani Taarah Ventures CEO/Founder 24 Junaid Kalia MD NeuroCare.AI Founder/CEO 25 Junaid Khan TWA CEO 26 Kalsoom Lakhani i2i Ventures Co-Founder/GP 27 Madiha Latif Zuria Dor Managing Partner 28 Madiha Rehman Phygital Co-Founder/CEO 29 Malick Shahab CFGI Partner 30 Mamoona Amir Callmasters Inc CEO/Founder 31 Minhal Arif Digi Graham Integrators Pvt Ltd Co-Founder / COO 32 Misbah Naqvi i2i Ventures Co-Founder/GP 33 M. Ahsan Tanveer Bridgelinx Technologies Co-Founder 34 Muhammad Ali Zaidi NuraLuminance Founder 35 M. Hamza Sarosh RWP Chamber of Commerce and Industry Senior Vice President 36 Muhammad Iqbal - Innovation Manager 37 Muhammad Nabeel EDVON Robotics CEO 38 Muhammed Bukhari Farmdar Co-Founder 39 Muneeb Ali OneByte CEO 40 Myra qureshi Conatural Founder/CEO 41 Naaz Shah Citizen 42 Nabeel Saqib Citizen Tech Executive 43 Noman Ali Inv-X Technologies Limited Founder / CEO 44 Noor Shaukat AimFit Co-Founder 45 Numan Sheikh Motive Lead ML Ops 46 Ovais Naqvi Rise Capital Partner 47 Ozair Kafray - Software Engineer 48 Rafaeel Chaudhry Investor 49 Raheel Bodla Success Coach Coach 50 Raja Naveed Khalid Cambridge Industries Chief eCommerce Officer 51 Rushd Ilyas Tesla Tech Lead 52 Saad Gadit Savyour Co-Founder/COO 53 Saad Raja Intellia CEO 54 Safia Mustafa Razia Sultanas / Aurora Organics CEO/Founder 55 Sajjad Mir Hastest Solutions CEO 56 Salaal Hasan Investor 57 Saleem Ranjha OPEN Lahore Chairman 58 Salman Chattha Taraki Tech Founder 59 Salman Parekh Wear Manto / Maansals CEO 60 Samia Razak Code Kids CEO 61 Sanjay Kishore SENSATION PAKISTAN Chief Executive 62 Shahab Siddiqi Tabadlab Founding Partner 63 Shamim Rajani Genetech Solutions Co-Founder / COO 64 Shariq Thanvi Saifst corp President 65 Shayaan Tahir HomeShopping Founder 66 Shazia Khan EcoEnergy CEO 67 Sheikh Taimur Nawaz Calmkaaj Founder 68 Shoaib Khan Markaz Technologies Founder / CEO 69 Shoaib Lalani FinPocket Co-Founder /CEO 70 Suleiman Khan Waazeh Tech CEO 71 S. Muzamil Hasan Zaidi one8nine Media Founder 72 Taimur Malik Kilam Law Senior Partner 73 Umair Aslam Markaz Technologies Co-Founder 74 Umair Munir Cityscape Technologies President 75 usman javaid Ricult Founder 76 Uzair Younus Atlantic Council Director, Pakistan Initiative 77 Uzzam Malik ARB Director Portfolio 78 Zahid Lilani Techshaw Founder 79 Zeeshan Shah Shahnawaz Associates Pvt. Ltd Executive Director 80 Omar shah COLABS CEO 81 Ali shah COLABS Co-Founder 82 Muhammad Saad BridgeLinx Technologies Co-Founder 83 Jalil ur Rahman EurekaNet Co Founder and CEO 84 Ahmed Ayub ConradLabs Chief Strategy Officer 85 Izzah Zaman Shadiyana.pk Co-founder and CEO 86 Rabeel Warraich Sarmayacar Founder and CEO 87 Saif Ali Dastgyr Technologies Executive Director 88 Komail Naqvi GoZayaan PK Director and Founder 89 Saleem Qazi RaaWee K12 Solutions CEO 90 Iskander Khwaja Al Borj Machinery Managing Director 91 Ayesha Chaudhry 10xEngineers Co-Founder 92 Hyder Mumtaz Ailaaj CEO 93 Faisal Aftab Zayn Capital Founder & GP 94 Zubair Naeem Paracha Refunnel Co-Founder 95 Mahrukh Qadeer Co-Wired CEO 96 Ashar Ahmad Applivity Co-Founder 97 Adeel Rasheed SnappRetail Co-Founder 98 Farah Mehboob Valider Co-Founder 99 Teddy Himler Antler Partner 100 Mubashir Jamali Ecofin Technologies Co-Founder 101 Saif Ali Dastgyr Technologies Executive Director 102 Yousuf Jawwad Breu Technologies CEO 103 Noman Tabani TE Group CEO 104 Faiz Ahmed Bain & Company Senior Manager 105 Bilal Amjad InstaCare Pvt Ltd CEO & Founder 106 Altaf Qureshi Wukla and Paksign CEO and Co Founder 107 Irtazah Ali AirNex CEO 108 - Digital Rights Foundation - 109 Fatima Zaka Farmette Founder 110 Naush Malik Chimera Capital Head of Credit Strategies 111 M. Ghayas Uddin Valeem Co-Founder 112 Waqar Baig Scholarship Network Co-Founder 113 Fahad Khalid Sadiq Co-Founder 114 Mehboob Mahmood Knowledge Platform CEO 11 Farhan Younis TradeDynamics Founder