WhatsApp, Instagram, other platforms face disruptions in Pakistan

• Users from across the country complain about outages.
• Downdetector shows disruptions on several platforms.
• There's no official comment about the issues.

With the government employing measures to stop the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) march to Islamabad, social media users across the country are facing hindrances while accessing the platforms.

Although hours have passed, the cause of the outage remains unknown, and no official notification has been issued, raising questions about its timing.

The government had confirmed that they planned on disrupting internet services in areas with security concerns, but there was no comment about social media platforms.

Downdetector.com — which tracks real-time overview of issues and outages of websites and social platforms — showed that users of Pakistan were facing disruptions in accessing WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and other sites.

However, the disruptions were not only restricted to social platforms, but internet was affected as well.

Shahjahan Khurram, an Islamabad-based journalist, said that the recent internet disruptions, be it the closure of X, slowed internet speeds across the country, or the banning of virtual private networks, have made life difficult for Pakistanis.

"To survive without the internet and go about your daily activities, whether it be your job or academic activities, in this day and age, seems extremely difficult."

Another citizen of Islamabad, Farhad Jarral said that the government seems to "unveil a new level of innovation" in restricting citizens’ access to the internet whenever PTI announces a protest in Islamabad.

"This time, not only were major social media platforms blocked, but even VPNs—normally a reliable workaround—were rendered ineffective," he said.

In Karachi, 27-year-old Tallal Aazmi told Geo.tv: "The internet is so slow right now, I can’t even share media on WhatsApp. It’s super frustrating and slows everything down."

Rabia, a resident of Lahore, said that the government has "been curtailing our right to information and freedom of speech which is a violation of our rights while the irony is that they themselves are using these platforms".

"The government needs to realise these shutdowns are not only impacting the public but making us a laughing stock on international platforms," she added.

State Minister for IT, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, quoted PTI’s protest post on X with her own remarks, terming it a "Fitna Call" and highlighting the government’s narrative in response to PTI's mobilisation efforts.

This further underscores how political rivalry increasingly finds its battleground in digital spaces, leaving ordinary citizens caught in the crossfire.

PTI founder Imran Khan has called on supporters to gather at D-Chowk in the capital and stay there until their demands are met, and it can be expected that the disruptions will persist.

In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government has stationed tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear and obstructed highways leading to Islamabad to prepare for the opposition’s protest rally.