The federal government stated late Friday that mobile internet connections would be restored across Pakistan, but users are still having problems accessing social media apps like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.
As people struggle to reconnect on these social media apps, a representative for the country’s telecom authority told local media that the government has not issued any guidelines about the reinstatement of social media apps even after internet restoration.
In the midst of the violence, social media users, particularly digital content providers, bloggers, and IT specialists, bemoaned the prolonged ban on social media.
Following days of upheaval, the crisis-hit country suffers massive losses, at a time when the economy is in free fall. According to reports, telecom operators lost over Rs2.5 billion in income. The enormous sum is only an estimate from one industry, and the whole economic loss is estimated to be more than Rs10 billion.
Major social media networks were completely down earlier this week due to widespread protests following the detention of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has since been granted two weeks’ bail by the Islamabad High Court.
On the direction of the interior ministry, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced the suspension of mobile broadband and internet services across the country, leaving people in distress.
