(Web Desk) — The Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) warned on Thursday that the country’s economy could suffer losses of up to $300 million due to internet disruptions caused by the implementation of a national firewall.

The firewall, being implemented by Islamabad, is intended to monitor and regulate content on social media platforms, according to local media reports. However, the government denies that the firewall is intended for censorship.

Ali Ihsan, senior vice chairman of P@SHA, expressed concern over the impact of the firewall, noting that it has already led to prolonged internet outages and erratic VPN performance. He warned that these issues could result in a “complete meltdown of business operations” and described the disruptions as a “direct, tangible, and aggressive assault on the industry’s viability,” with financial losses potentially reaching $300 million.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja did not immediately respond to the claims. Earlier this month, Khawaja stated that the government did not intend to use the firewall as a tool for censorship.

In response to the situation, P@SHA criticized the government’s lack of transparency regarding the firewall, which it said had sparked distrust among internet users and global IT clients concerned about data security and privacy. The association called for an “immediate and unconditional halt to this digital siege” and urged the government to collaborate with the industry to develop a cybersecurity framework.

Despite these challenges, Pakistan’s IT sector has shown growth, with the country recording $298 million in IT exports in June, a 33% increase from the previous year. For the fiscal year ending in June, IT exports totaled $3.2 billion, a 24% increase from $2.5 billion in the previous fiscal year.