Internet Connectivity Issues Across Pakistan to Be Resolved by September 24, Confirms IT Ministry

The Ministry of Information Technology has announced that the ongoing internet connectivity disruptions across Pakistan will be fully resolved by September 24. The ministry provided this update in a written response presented in the National Assembly, explaining the disruptions since February 2021.

According to the ministry, several key incidents have contributed to the recurring internet issues. Most recently, the SEAMEWE 4 submarine cable was damaged under the sea on June 17, 2024, reducing bandwidth by 1,500 GBPs. Additionally, a fault in PTCL’s system on July 31, 2024, was swiftly addressed within a few hours. However, the February 2022 outage lasted for three months.

The internet issues have affected millions of users across the country, including social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, and mobile data services. Freelancers in Pakistan have voiced concerns over missed deadlines and project delays due to slow internet speeds, which they claim have negatively impacted their international reputation.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman, retired Maj Gen Hafeezur Rehman, clarified that the internet slowdown was caused by a damaged submarine cable, dismissing rumors of a firewall installation. He confirmed that no firewall was in place but rather an upgrade to the government’s web management system was ongoing.