Internet services partially restored in Islamabad and Rawalpindi
Mobile internet services in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been partially restored today morning. It was suspended for three days, after a government imposed lockdown, with an objective to prevent peaceful protest there. This period the citizens had Wi-Fi and dial mobiles for communication only.
The protests ended late on Tuesday night after a major operation by law enforcement agencies at Jinnah Avenue. Now that the situation is calming down, life in the twin cities is beginning to return to normal.
According to reports, the internet was barred for security reasons by following orders from the Interior Ministry, says the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority. Social networking websites, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, remained barred, besides mobile internet services. Users often experienced media uploads and downloads difficulties due to this shutdown.
While mobile internet has been resumed, PTA officials claim that services of social media will resume only after the complete assessment of the security situation. Nonetheless, Wi-Fi services along with regular mobile calls were reportedly not affected. However, the disruption caused communication and business problems for several days.