More internet outages likely in Pakistan due to floods

• IT minister says situation is serious, more internet outage incidents expected in days to come.
• Pakistan recently witnessed two instances of internet outages in last week.
• PTCL says recent outages were caused by “flood relief efforts in Sukkur division."

Pakistanis may face more suspensions of internet service in the near future as the country deals with excessive flooding caused by relentless rains, a technical report submitted to the Ministry of Information Technology stated.

Pakistan has witnessed two instances of internet outages during the last one week.

The ministry had directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to submit a report after incidents of cable cuts recently.

A report published by Daily Dawn read that PTCL stated in its report that internet outages during the last few days were actually caused by “flood relief efforts in the Sukkur division where fibre-optic cables were being damaged mainly by heavy machinery used to clear water in Sindh”.

Netizens experienced disruption in services multiple times during the last several days as rescue efforts kicked off amid heavy rains in Sindh.

Meanwhile, Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque, citing the technical report, warned that “the situation was serious and more such incidents could be expected in near future”.

The minister told the publication that due to extensive flooding, most of the pathways of underground cables have been submerged, as relief workers or locals try to divert floodwater by digging trenches on roads and footpaths.

Haque said that the PTCL has been asked to declare an emergency so that repair work can be initiated when any such incident is reported in the system.

“The PTA is constantly monitoring the quality of service,” the minister said.