Millions of Pakistanis continue to have issues with WhatsApp and other internet services, with many unable to send or receive basic text messages.
Millions of Pakistanis continue to have issues with WhatsApp, with many unable to send or receive simple text messages. The problem has been ongoing for several weeks, and no one knows when it will be resolved. What was initially described as a malfunction on WhatApp owner Meta’s end has been exposed as the Pakistani government’s own ineptitude.
WhatsApp is one of the most popular online messaging programs in Pakistan, with 111 million internet users at the start of 2024, up from 87.35 million at the beginning of 2023. Almost one in every two Pakistani internet users has the program loaded on their smartphone for mobile calls and texting. WhatsApp, however, has become the latest victim of Islamabad’s internet censorship efforts.
The authorities has earlier dealt a similar blow to X (now Twitter), citing national security concerns. Pakistanis continue to access X via Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), despite the prohibition.
Speaking of VPNs, a Pakistani minister blamed the internet delay on the usage of this technology by individual individuals across the nation. Shaza Fatima, the state minister for information technology and telecommunications, told reporters at a news conference that the government has neither delayed or shut down the internet.
“I want to reassure the public that the state has not shut down or slowed down the internet,” Fatima told Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn. While acknowledging a prolonged internet outage, the minister stated that the problem was “limited to a few services on certain apps not downloading” before assigning blame for the delay to VPN users.
Pakistan’s government likewise denied imposing a ban on X for more than a month before acknowledging it was really banning the platform.
Industry professionals and academics worry that the government’s interference with the internet may exacerbate issues in Pakistan’s services industry, which employs more than half of the South Asian country’s workforce. The internet problem is forcing some international corporations to relocate or consider transferring their operations abroad, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Business Council on August 17. Failure to handle the issue might cost the country up to $300 million.
The internet breakdown also drew Pakistan’s judiciary into the spotlight, as two superior courts requested a government response on the matter. In separate sessions, the Lahore and Islamabad High Courts sought in-person comments from government officials and members of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), which has been mute on the internet slowdown.
The Islamabad High Court petition, filed on August 21 by renowned Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir through Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, “sought redressal for the glaring violations of citizens’ fundamental rights due to the apparent installation of a firewall, drastically reduced internet speeds, routine network disruptions, and the federal government’s denial of these issues,” Dawn reports.
The Islamabad High Court will resume hearings in the matter on August 26. The court is anticipating comments from the stakeholders involved.
The internet outage comes amidst considerable dissatisfaction in Pakistan with the country’s economic status. Inflation is rising, and the government has significantly increased taxes and utility tariffs in order to satisfy the requirements of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) package. However, many Pakistanis feel the government is attempting to force regular taxpayers to pay for the ruling elite’s luxury lifestyle.
Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb revealed a 25% boost in government wages in his June budget, followed by an extraordinary tax hike for the average salaried class. The budget was highly attacked, with an editorial in Dawn suggesting that it will “make the life of average Pakistanis even harder.”
Given the circumstances, some view the internet shutdown as a blatant attempt by the Pakistani government to silence dissent in digital forums.
Amidst the chaos, the Pakistan Army stated that it was taking action against one of its own. Lt. Gen (Retd) Faiz Hameed, the former chief of the country’s premier spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, was placed into military detention after an internal inquiry found him guilty of corruption and mismanagement.
“In connection with the FGCM proceedings of Lt Gen (Retd) Faiz Hameed, three retired officers are also in military custody for their actions prejudicial to military discipline,” the military’s media wing stated in a follow-up statement.
It is unclear whether Hameed’s detention is related to Pakistan’s present political and economic crisis. The military has justified the detention as a reaction to Supreme Court orders, but institutions in Pakistan have a tendency to disregard judicial supremacy unless it serves their own interests.