Internet disruptions hit major cities in Pakistan

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Users across various cities in Pakistan woke up on Sunday to internet hindrances due to slow speeds, resulting in difficulties with browsing, as well as downloading and sharing media. Users reported experiencing substantial service interruptions with popular platforms like WhatsApp, Gmail, Instagram, and TikTok.

The internet issues were confirmed by Downdetector which recorded a sapike in outages in major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Quetta and Rawalpindi, especially for Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok.

The disrupted internet access also adversely affected those engaged in online businesses. Talking to Geo News, a top executive working in the telecom industry estimated that economic losses caused by Internet disruptions could be around Rs2 billion to Rs2.3 billion a day. “Total telecom revenues of the country are roughly Rs3 billion per day and 60-70 per cent of this relates to the internet, particularly mobile 3/4G internet,” he said. “Overall the negative impact on the country’s economy and GDP is huge”, he added.

Internet disruptions are not unusual in Pakistan; the country has been facing sporadic outages and access hindrances for months now. Last week, internet and mobile services were disrupted in the wake of the PTI’s ‘do-or-die’ protest in Islamabad.

The government has also carried out multiple tests of its internet firewall, with the first and second trials conducted in July and August, respectively. On both occasions, the trials slowed down internet speeds and disrupted digital platforms.

However, no specific reason for Sunday’s slowed internet speed has come to light.

Speaking to Geo News regarding the prevailing issues internet, Minister for IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja said: “[Cellular] data is fully functional in the country”, and added that this “temporary issue” will definitely be resolved. “I will not deny [it], surely difficulties do exist,” she said.

The minister also addressed the issue of restrictions on X (formerly Twitter), which has been restricted in the country for months owing to security concerns raised by the government regarding the content propagated on the platform. “X is used by less than two per cent of the people in Pakistan. If the government’s intention was to restrict the freedom of expression then other platforms would have faced restrictions such as Facebook and TikTok which are widely used by the masses”, she said.

When asked about why government officials such as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others were using the platform when it was restricted for regular citizens, the minister underscored diplomatic obligations which initially arose when the Chinese president, Saudi Arabia and other countries congratulated PM Shehbaz on X on becoming the country’s premier.

“A diplomatic situation was created and it was deliberated upon how to make sure that the prime minister’s message is [duly] conveyed,” she added.

Responding to a question regarding the internet firewall and resulting internet issues, Khawaja said that the country faces millions of cyberattacks daily and lamented that the whole firewall issue has “been blown out of proportion”.

“We have a web management system which has been operational for the past 10 years [....] The government of Pakistan needs improved and better cybersecurity [mechanism].... “There is nothing controversial if a country takes measures for [improving] its cybersecurity”, remarked the IT minister.

When pressed on government censorship, Khawaja maintained that freedom of expression was not hindered as all digital media platforms were operational and were not restricted.

Highlighting the terrorism issue, she said that several law-enforcement agencies (LEA) personnel were martyred in nearly one month.

“My job is to protect my own industry. Whenever there’s a security-related issue [it is] the Ministry of Interior that [gives directions to] the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)”, she noted.

“Broadband, widely used by the [IT, business industry] is not restricted. The [IT] export figures have smashed records last month. We have recorded a 40 per cent growth compared to last year. If the industry was being impacted then you would not see such numbers”, added the minister while addressing the concerns regarding the financial impact on the IT industry.

Complaining about the internet bandwidth of 274 megahertz, the minister said that the country was the lowest ranked in terms of spectrum availability, adding that the government aims to auction 550 to 600MHZ internet spectrum in April next year which will improve the overall bandwidth and speed.

Complaining about the infrastructure shortfalls, the IT minister said that the country has less number of telecom towers in light of the rise in population.

On the issue of the use of fibreoptics, she said that the government has prepared a policy to encourage investment in that domain so that high-speed internet is accessible in people’s homes.

She further revealed that four submarine cables will be connected to the country in the coming year.