ISLAMABAD: Several social media applications including WhatsApp have seen disruption in various cities of Pakistan since Friday.
Thousands of users also faced problems accessing Instagram in major Pakistani cities like Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Karachi reporting the majority of the cases in the past 24 hours.
Reports have also emerged of messages not downloading on WhatsApp. Downdetector reported on Friday that WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram have been experiencing slowdowns for several hours. The website again reported a spike in complaints on Saturday.
Users are forced to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to send voice notes and media files.
However, NetBlocks, another important platform monitoring internet restrictions, has not reported any anomaly in Pakistan’s internet traffic.
The disruption comes in the wake of reports that Pakistani authorities are testing a firewall to block and filter out unwanted social media content.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and most Internet Service Providers (IPS) haven’t issued any clarification on the social media disruption.
