On Sunday, users across Karachi and other cities in Pakistan, including Peshawar and Quetta, reported slow internet speeds and disrupted services, especially affecting WhatsApp and other digital platforms. In Karachi’s areas like North Nazimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, and Karsaz, users struggled with media sharing and slow Wi-Fi. The disruptions were also felt in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Downdetector confirmed outages in popular platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and Gmail around 11 am. These disruptions come after a pattern of intermittent internet issues in Pakistan, including mobile network disruptions during political protests and government tests of internet firewalls earlier this year.
IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja acknowledged the difficulties but downplayed their impact, emphasizing that no specific cause for today’s issues had been identified. She also addressed concerns about government restrictions on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and the need for improved cybersecurity measures. While she assured that the country’s broadband services and IT industry were unaffected, experts pointed out that slow internet speeds could hurt the economy, especially the telecom sector, which contributes significantly to national profits. The government is planning to auction additional internet spectrum in the coming months to improve bandwidth and speed.
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