Category: 1. Pakistan

A significant internet disruption hit Pakistan on Tuesday evening, severely impacting connectivity nationwide. According to global internet observatory NetBlocks, national internet access dropped to just 20% of normal levels.

“Metrics show a major disruption to internet connectivity across Pakistan with high impact to backbone operator PTCL; overall national connectivity is down to 20% of ordinary levels,” NetBlocks reported in a post on X.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited also shared a statement on X regarding the outage, saying, “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.”

The outage began late in the evening and affected multiple regions across the country. The disruption hindered business operations, banking transactions, and routine communication, triggering widespread concern and frustration on social media.

The Sindh government has declared a public holiday on Wednesday in Karachi following heavy rainfall lashing the metropolis.

In a separate notification, the Sindh government’s school department has ordered all private and public educational institutions under its purview in the city to remain closed today due to the heavy rainfall.

With citizens experiencing extended power failures, traffic jams and general mayhem as heavy rain on Tuesday, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab declared a rain emergency amid warnings of more showers to come.

According to the Met Office, as of 8pm Tuesday, Gulshan-i-Hadeed had recorded the highest level of rain at 170 millimetres, followed by Airport Old Area at 158.5mm, Jinnah Terminal 153mm, Nazimabad 149.6mm, Surjani Town 145.2mm, Keamari 140mm, Saadi Town 140.2mm, Defence Housing Authority Phase VII 134mm, University Road 133mm, PAF Base Faisal 128mm, North Karachi 108.4mm, Korangi 132.2mm, Gulshan-i-Maymar 98mm, PAF Masroor Base 87mm, Orangi Town 66.2mm and Bahria Town 4.8mm.

It continued to pour intermittently over large parts of the city late into Tuesday night, with prayers the only resort for citizens facing prolonged electricity breakdowns with no end in sight.

According to a notification issued by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), the mayor “cancelled all types of leave, including weekly holidays” for the essential services departments, directing them to remain available.

He also directed the municipal services, the fire brigade and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) departments of KMC to establish a Rain Emergency Cell in coordination with all essential services departments.

On the instructions of the Karachi East Zone’s Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Dr Farrukh Ali, the East Zone police is on high alert to deal with the possible effects of rains, the DIG’s Media Cell said in a statement.

“Clear orders have been issued to all SDPOs (sub-divisional police officers) and SHOs (station house officers) to remain present in their respective areas, ensure drainage, traffic flow and take immediate steps to deal with any emergency,” the statement said.

It added that the DIG had instructed that the protection of life and property of citizens should be ensured at all costs, paying special attention to low-lying areas. Rescue teams and helplines should be kept active, and timely guidance and assistance should be provided to the public.

The DIG statement also appealed to citizens to avoid unnecessary movement during bad weather, advising them to contact 15 or the nearest police station immediately in case of any emergency.

“Police are with the public at all times in all weathers,” it added.

Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani contacted various town chairmen, municipal committee chairmen and municipal commissioners over the phone to seek details regarding the situation after the rains.

The chairmen of all towns and union councils and the municipal commissioners should immediately use all resources to drain water from the roads on an emergency basis.

“In the first phase, all important highways should be cleared so that the delivery of machinery or other equipment to the affected areas can be ensured,” he said in a statement from his office, adding that small highways and roads should be tackled next.

He urged citizens to limit their movement due to water on the roads to avoid any accidents, and also urged them to stay away from power poles and other electrical installations.

“In some areas, due to the power outage by K-Electric, sewage pumping stations are facing difficulties. As an alternative, these pumping stations are being operated with emergency generators,” he said.

A rain emergency cell was also established at the Governor’s House, with citizens impacted by the rain and traffic directed to immediately reach out for help at 1366.

The cell will remain active around the clock and provide timely aid to victims.

“Citizens will not be left alone in difficult times; all possible facilities will be provided,” Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori was quoted as saying in a statement.

Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.

On Monday, Sindh Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani had said that arrangements were in place to deal with the upcoming monsoon spell as parts of Karachi received light rain on Monday.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had chaired an emergency meeting to oversee preparations for the monsoon rains expected to impact Karachi and other parts of the province.

A press release from his office said CM Shah put all the local bodies, administration and traffic police on high alert, and directed them to strengthen coordination between the relevant departments and organisations.

Update: “We are currently facing data connectivity challenge on our PTCL and Ufone services. Our Teams are diligently working to restore the services as quickly as possible. We regret any inconvenience caused,” a PTCL spokesperson officially informed ProPakistani.

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Internet users across Pakistan are experiencing widespread connectivity issues following an outage at an upstream service provider. The disruption, likely due to flooding across the nation, has affected several major internet service providers, including PTCL, Ufone and Nayatel, all of which have confirmed service interruptions.

According to an official statement from Nayatel, the disruption stems from a technical fault in the network of an upstream provider responsible for carrying internet traffic into the country. As a result, end users in various regions are facing slow browsing speeds, increased latency, and in some cases, complete loss of connectivity.

Users have reported difficulties accessing websites and online services throughout the day. Outage tracking platform DownDetector has also registered a significant spike in complaints related to internet access across multiple regions.

While service providers have acknowledged the issue, there is currently no official timeline for full restoration. Technical teams are working with upstream partners to resolve the problem and restore stable internet access.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) users faced a major internet outage on Tuesday evening, disrupting connectivity across the country. Not as much but other ISPs like Nayatel, StormFiber, etc. also reported disruptions.

According to Downdetector, complaints about PTCL services began to spike around 9:30 PM PKT and quickly crossed 2,400 reports within minutes, marking significant service disruptions in recent months.

Users from major cities including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar reported either complete service outages or severe slowdowns.

While the cause of the disruption remains unclear, experts suggest that such widespread outages are often linked to issues in the fiber backbone network or submarine internet cables that Pakistan relies on for international connectivity.

A PTCL spokesperson confirmed the disruption in a statement, saying:

“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.”

Sources suggest it is due to an issue with upstream service provider, all ISPs are affected.

This isn’t the first time Pakistan has faced nationwide connectivity issues. In previous years, internet slowdowns and blackouts have been attributed to submarine cable faults, which can take hours or even days to repair.

Meanwhile, users are resorting to mobile data services to stay connected, but many complain that cellular networks are also experiencing congestion due to the sudden surge in traffic.

Flight operations were affected at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Tuesday as the city received heavy rainfall, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Aviation Authority (PAA).

Karachi received heavy rainfall in several areas over the day, triggering power outages throughout the city as the authorities advised citizens to take precautionary measures.

According to a statement issued by PAA spokesperson Saifullah Khan, several flights were affected due to inclement weather during the day.

Affected flights included Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) PK 304 from Karachi to Lahore, which was scheduled for 2pm but was delayed till 5pm.

PIA’s flights from Karachi to Quetta and Sukkur were also cancelled, whereas the flight to Islamabad was delayed an hour till 5pm.

The national flag carrier also confirmed in a separate statement that its flight operations were affected due to bad weather in Karachi and Islamabad.

“Due to bad weather, strong winds and rain in Islamabad and Karachi, there was a slight change in the movement of PIA flights,” a statement from PIA’s Corporate Communication Division read.

Due to bad weather, flights may be delayed, the statement added, instructing passengers to contact the PIA Call Centre at 111-786-786 for information regarding their flights, the statement added.

International flights were also affected as a FlyDubai flight FZ335 from Dubai to Karachi was diverted to Multan, according to the PAA. The flight later landed in Karachi at 7pm.

FlyJinnah’s flight 9P866 from Peshawar for Karachi was also 2 hours late because of the bad weather in Karachi.

Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger urban flooding, deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas. The Meteorological Department had predicted rains in the city from this week.

According to a notification from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Mayor Murtaza Wahab has declared a rain emergency in the city.

The notification added that he “cancelled all types of (leave) including weekly holidays”, for the essential services departments, directing them to remain available.

According to the Met Office, as of 8pm, Gulshan-i-Hadeed recorded the highest level of rain at 170 millimetres, followed by Airport Old Area with 158.5mm, Jinnah Terminal 153mm, Nazimabad 149.6mm, Surjani Town 145.2mm, Keamari 140mm, Saadi Town 140.2mm, Defence Housing Authority Phase VII 134mm, University Road 133mm, PAF Base Faisal 128mm, North Karachi 108.4mm, Korangi 132.2mm, Gulshan-i-Maymar 98mm, PAF Masroor Base 87mm, Orangi Town 66.2mm and Bahria Town 4.8mm.

The Afghan Taliban will host a trilateral meeting with China and Pakistan in Kabul on Wednesday — the first such high-level gathering since it regained power four years ago — in a bid to bolster its push for international legitimacy.

“Comprehensive discussions will be held on a number of important issues, including political, economic, and regional cooperation among the three countries,” Hafiz Zia Ahmad, a deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a series of posts on X.