ISLAMABAD – People in crisis-hit Pakistan are facing a serious dilemma as million remained offline for now three days in a row as the government revoked mobile broadband services after the arrest of Imran Khan, who now gets temporary relief from the Supreme Court.
Amid the clashes, the country’s telecom regulator said the services have been revoked for an indefinite period on the interior ministry’s instructions as violent clashes have broken out between security forces and supporters of PTI.
As millions are desperately looking to reconnect while they rely on internet-dependent services; the suspension caused faced financial losses, whereas telecom officials remain tight-lipped about the revival of internet.
The South Asian country is already ranked among the world’s worst nations in terms of Internet access, the recent outage was no less than chaotic development. The internet suspension even makes Pakistanis toothless to grab any work on the freelance work platform ‘Fiverr’ which cautioned clients about the unavailability of the internet. Daily wagers, who work on online services like Careem, and FoodPanda remained in dire straits.
Internet disruptions also impacted Pakistani startups, digital creators, and online education projects as well.
Besides the mobile broadband, social media sites including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are not working for users as people are unable to connect on social platforms.
Internet service to remain suspended for indefinite period: PTA
