Users across Pakistan have been experiencing significant difficulties accessing the social media platform Facebook since Tuesday night (9th of Muharram), leading to widespread frustration and speculation among the online community.
Reports indicate that numerous Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Pakistan have been unable to access Facebook and Instagram since Tuesday, with users taking to other social media platforms, such as X (formerly known as Twitter), to voice their concerns.
Despite the growing number of complaints, Facebook's parent organization Meta and internet monitoring service NetBlock have yet to confirm any issues affecting the platform's accessibility in Pakistan. This lack of confirmation has left many users puzzled and searching for answers.
Some users have speculated whether the government might have imposed a ban on Facebook, especially given recent proposals to restrict social media access during the religious observance of Muharram.
Moreover, Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users, showed that users reported problems accessing Facebook and Facebook Messenger shortly after 11pm on Tuesday, which persisted throughout Wednesday and was reported even on Thursday.
On July 4, the Punjab government submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Interior, suggesting the shutdown of key social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, from the 6th to the 11th of Muharram for security reasons.
However, this proposal was rejected by the government, which decided not to proceed with the social media shutdown.
The current access issues have reignited concerns and debates about internet censorship and the role of government in regulating social media platforms. Users have reported a variety of problems, ranging from being unable to log into their Facebook accounts to complete inaccessibility of the platform.
