ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis may face more suspensions of internet service in near future as country deals with excessive flooding caused by relentless rains, a technical report submitted to Ministry of Information Technology stated. Pakistan has witnessed two instances of internet outages during last one week. Ministry directed Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to submit report after incidents of cable cuts recently.

PTCL stated in its report that internet outages during last few days were actually caused by “flood relief efforts in 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 last several days as rescue efforts kicked off amid heavy rains in Sindh.

Meanwhile, Minister for IT and Telecom Aminul Haque, citing technical report warned “Situation was serious and more such incidents could be expected in near future”. Minister told publication that due to extensive flooding, most of 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 PTCL has been asked to declare an emergency so that repair work can be initiated when any such incident is reported in system. “PTA is constantly monitoring quality of service,” Minister said.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 26 2022

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