Regional shutdown
Starting on 9 May 2023, the government of Pakistan reportedly ordered regional shutdowns of mobile Internet access amidst violent protests following the arrest of Imran Khan, a former Prime Minister and current leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. Reports indicated that mobile coverage was disrupted but wired / fixed coverage continues. Various media stories reported blocking of social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. We were not able to confirm any specific blocking of services (versus just a complete shutdown of connectivity), however OONI data shown below seems to indicate that such service blockage is happening. Measurements from IODA and Cloudflare Radar indicate that Internet connectivity through mobile networks was restored on 12 May 2023. However, OONI measurements indicated that some service blocking continued into the following week and was not fully restored until 18 May.
- Total Duration 3 days
Pakistan
- Population
- 247,504,495
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Local impact
Starting on 9 May 2023, the government of Pakistan reportedly ordered regional shutdowns of mobile Internet access amidst violent protests following the arrest of Imran Khan, a former Prime Minister and current leader of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party. Reports indicated that mobile coverage was disrupted but wired / fixed coverage continues. Various media stories reported blocking of social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. We were not able to confirm any specific blocking of services (versus just a complete shutdown of connectivity), however OONI data shown below seems to indicate that such service blockage is happening. Measurements from IODA and Cloudflare Radar indicate that Internet connectivity through mobile networks was restored on 12 May 2023. However, OONI measurements indicated that some service blocking continued into the following week and was not fully restored until 18 May.
Related documentation
We have not yet identified a formal official announcement on any Pakistan government websites or social media channels. However, multiple Pakistani media outlets are reporting direct communication with spokespeople from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. One example from Geo.tv:
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), on the orders of the Interior Ministry, blocked mobile broadband services across the country Tuesday as protests erupted after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s arrest earlier in the day.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Wednesday said that internet services across the country will remain suspended for an indefinite period.
Other supporting information
IODA
Data from IODA confirms that there was a drop in overall Internet connectivity for Pakistan. Several networks show degraded service, and specifically AS45669 for Mobilink shows a drop by over 50% in BGP connectivity on that mobile network.
IODA shows that Internet connectivity was restored on May 12 to most networks. The IODA chart for AS 45669 clearly shows the outage:
OONI
The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) shows issues connecting to popular social media sites from within Pakistan, starting on 9 May:
OONI data showed that the service blocking of some social media sites continued on after the restoration of mobile Internet connectivity on 12 May and were not fully restored until 18 May:
Social media
https://twitter.com/usamabasit/status/1656286990453682178
Media coverage
https://twitter.com/usamabasit/status/1656286990453682178