Islamabad, Aug 20 A nationwide internet outage in Pakistan continues to disrupt businesses, financial services and daily life. Industry officials termed the internet outage as one of the most severe breakdowns in recent years.
According to a statement released by the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (WISPAP), as per estimates, nearly two-thirds of users were impacted during the internet disruption. The internet outage has been reported three years after a similar nationwide blackout hit Pakistan on the same date in 2022, when floods damaged Pakistan’s main fibre routes, Pakistan-based The News International reported.
The nationwide internet outage has sparked concerns regarding the fragility of Pakistan's digital sector. WISPAP Chairman Shahzad Arshad stated, "This is a national failure."
He said, "Internet outages are no longer rare accidents in Pakistan; they have become a recurring reality. For two-thirds of the country to go dark in 2025, on the very date we saw the same collapse in 2022, should ring alarm bells at every level of government."
Shahzad Arshad stressed that reliable internet access is now as important as electricity, as freelancers, hospitals, students and banks all need internet connectivity for conducting their work. He stated, "Every hour offline costs Pakistan millions and damages our reputation internationally."
The industry group has asked regulators to diversify infrastructure by encouraging more providers, developing regional internet exchanges and investing in redundancy. Arshad said, "Pakistan’s digital future cannot remain hostage to single points of failure." He stressed that Pakistan needs decisive reforms and not repeated apologies.
In a post midnight message on Tuesday, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited shared details regarding internet disruption and mentioned that their teams were working to restore the services.
"Dear Customers, We are currently facing data connectivity challenges on our PTCL and Ufone services. Our Teams are diligently working to restore the services as quickly as possible. We regret any inconvenience caused," Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited posted on X.
In a statement shared on X on August 19, Internet Observatory NetBlocks stated, "Confirmed: Metrics show a major disruption to internet connectivity across #Pakistan with high impact to backbone operator PTCL; overall national connectivity is down to 20 per cent of ordinary levels."
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