As the country held its provincial, national, and presidential elections today, Pakistan authorities ordered mobile Internet and phone services to be suspended nationwide to “maintain law and order”. The shutdown began around 02:00 UTC and connectivity was restored after the election starting around 15:00 UTC.
Read our Pakistan Election 2024 report on the Pulse Blog for more details.
As the country held its provincial, national, and presidential elections today, Pakistan authorities ordered mobile Internet and phone services to be suspended nationwide to “maintain law and order”. The shutdown began around 02:00 UTC and connectivity was restored after the election starting around 15:00 UTC.
Read our Pakistan Election 2024 report on the Pulse Blog for more details.
Related documentation
Aljazeera reported that the Pakistan Interior Ministry ordered the suspension of mobile phone service nationwide.
Other supporting information
Cloudflare Radar shows Internet traffic for mobile operators Mobilink (Jazz), Telenor Pakistan, and CMPak (Zong) dropping significantly on 8 February 2024 between 1:45 and 2:30 UTC and began returning around 15:00 UTC.
We and our partners in the #KeepItOn coalition have written to the Pakistan authorities earlier this week asking them to ensure open and secure internet access throughout the 2024 electionshttps://t.co/ueLIPqJCte
No phone service to know your polling station and family number, No Internet to use google maps to find the polling station, a wait of two hour outside and so many more hurdles but had to make Pakistan win. Pakistan Zindabad!! pic.twitter.com/wmGeTIHQll
We’re a digital first, digital only news platform, a startup in Pakistan. What are we supposed to do when all mobile and internet services are closed in Pakistan? What are we supposed to do when the WiFi is barely working? What? @TheCurrentPK#Elections2024pic.twitter.com/dThdVfZbOy