Residents across Karachi experienced a two-hour suspension of cable television and internet services on Monday evening after cable and internet operators announced a “token strike” against what they termed as the “high-handedness” of the K-Electric (KE). The announcement of the protest against KE’s alleged move to cut off cable and internet wires using its electricity poles was made at a joint press conference in Karachi of cable operators associations and internet service providers, led by Pakistan Cable Operators Association chairman Khalid Arain. Arain announced that in order to protest KE’s “oppressive measures”, TV and internet services would remain suspended in Karachi between 7pm and 9pm. He cautioned that if KE did not agree to their demands, the strike could be expanded to the entire country. In a message sent to consumers, internet provider StormFiber said TV and internet would remain disabled in the city for two hours as per the Pakistan Telecommunication Access Provider Association’s “protest against fiber damage by utility company”. Giving details of the conflict with KE, Arain said the power utility had held cable operators responsible for the deaths caused during last year’s rains due to electrocution. Cable and internet providers had denied this charge because the fiber optic cables used by them do not carry any current, he added. On the basis of its allegations, the KE “illegally” started cutting off cable operators’ wires without any warning, Arain claimed. He said cable operators were using electric poles to carry wires into people’s houses across the country, but only Karachi’s power utility had raised a complaint in this regard. According to Arain, the Karachi commissioner at a meeting 10 months ago had directed KE to not cut the TV and internet cables until a “common corridor” is established, and the cable operators too had sought “appropriate” time to shift their infrastructure underground, but KE had proceeded to disconnect their wires anyway. He said with the start of this year’s monsoon rains, KE started to force the cable operators to “own” the deaths caused due to electrocution, but alleged that the actual problem was with the power utility’s infrastructure because its poles were not properly earthed.
