Pakistani netizens, already reeling from recent internet disruptions, were met with another dark day on January 20. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) offered technical justifications, attributing the blackout to ongoing system upgrades. However, the projected timeline of "2 to 3 months" only served to deepen public anxieties.
Director General Ahmed Shamim Pirzada, flanked by Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi and FIA Cybercrime Director of Operations Waqaruddin Syed, faced a press conference rife with scepticism.
The timing of the outage, coinciding with a pre-announced online event by a specific political party, fuelled speculation of deliberate throttling.
This suspicion was further bolstered by a similar pattern of disruptions on December 17 and January 7.
Minister Solangi echoed the technical glitch explanation while acknowledging the possibility of further hiccups.
This tepid reassurance did little to assuage public concerns, particularly against the backdrop of suspiciously timed blackouts.
The PTA's previous statement citing a "technical fault" after the January 20th disruption only added fuel to the fire of public doubt.
Pakistan's tech-savvy populace expressed palpable outrage at the apparent lack of transparency and the extended timeframe for resolution.
