In a shocking incident that occurred on the 8 ^the September 2022 in Johar Town Lahore, StormFiber teams on site were allegedly attacked and shot by the Mafia of local operators.

As per ProPakistani sources from StormFiber (a part of Cybernet) an group of trigger-happy cable operators have opened fire on two members of the team.

“We were carrying out repairs for our equipment and cables which local cable operators had deliberately damaged , when the cable operators approached us and asked us if we were part of StormFiber,” shared one of the victims.

“As we were told that they were beating us with their bare hands. We tried to escape and then call our team leaders. When the team leads arrived in, additional cable operators joined them and began firing upon our leaders’ legs. but luckily, nobody was hurt,” he added.

According to reports that the StormFiber team was notified of the incident on 15th of June. An online complaint was also made.

A Repeat Occurrence

ProPakistani also found out the StormFiber fiber network as well as networking equipment are intentionally frequently damaged from the cable operators mafia in Lahore.

This isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime event or a single incident, it is a recurring incident that is designed to prevent the company from providing fiber broadband services to its customers.

“We’re licensed as a company in the City. We we’re shocked and shocked by the way this mafia group is in a position to frightfully threaten our lives and hamper our work.” one employee said.

He said that a second horrifying incident occurred last Ramzan in the TNT Society, where these cable operators fired for over 35 minutes on the StormFiber team who was doing regular repair work.

“We were fortunate enough to get out unscathed and help save our lives” one of our team members, told ProPakistani.

The Problem is City-Wide

It’s not a problem of just one or two areas According to our source at the company.

Some of the regions that are most affected by the mafia of cable operators are Johar Town, PIA Housing Society, Punjab Housing Society Phase 2, TNT Employees Cooperative Housing Society, Raiwind Road, Sabzazar Housing Society, Mustafa Town, Jubilee Town and many more.

This mafia group is not just infringing on the rights of licensed broadband providers in Lahore and other cities, but it is risking those of their valuable employees, who are now feeling totally at risk while performing their job to provide the highest quality of connectivity to our customers.

Assistance from Law Enforcement

StormFiber states that it has sought support from Local law enforcement authorities in their situation. StormFiber claims that it pays 19.5 percent in taxes for provincial government. and 15% in advance taxes to federal governments, and other fees associated with licensing.

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We hope that those in question are held accountable.

“We’re not only doing business and providing income thousands of households in Lahore and pushing the national agenda for digitalization in the process,” a StormFiber official spoke to ProPakistani.

“It becomes increasingly difficult to work in these circumstances, however we can assure our clients that we won’t be deterred by such events and continue to offer services,” he added.

He also stated that the company will not budge in taking legal action against those who pose a threat to the lives of team members or undermine our infrastructure.

“Pakistan has ambitious goals such as Knowledge Economy, Digital Pakistan, Fiberization, etc. We are contributing to. However, to keep this endeavor, the support of law enforcement agencies is essential,” he stressed.

Hopes and dreams from PTA and PEMRA

The company has also sought help by PTA as well as PEMRA and is waiting to concrete actions from them.

“We hope that our appeal for a meaningful intervention is heard by the right people and that those who are responsible for continually infringing on StormFiber’s existence StormFiber and threatening the members of our staff are held to task, so that StormFiber continues to enhance connectivity for clients who reside in Lahore,” another StormFiber official stated.