KARACHI – This week started with frustration for millions of internet users in Pakistan as social apps like Snapchat slowed or stopped working, while a massive global outage of AWS caused disruption worldwide.
In Pakistan, users are frustrated as internet speeds have plummeted across multiple ISPs, including in Karachi, reportedly due to another mysterious “undersea cable fault.”
Local media reported slow browsing and interrupted services as many linked slowdown to an underwater cable disruption, but neither companies involved, Ministry of IT, nor Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued any official statements.
When approached for clarification, Minister of IT Shaza Fatima Khawaja linked problem to worldwide AWS failure.
Internet users insisted that their service providers had notified them about a “cable fault.” Digital expert that the disruption stemmed from a serious fault in the PAC (Pakistan-Asia-Cable) system. “There is a cut in the main cable system,” Khan tweeted. “Teams are currently testing to locate the exact point of failure.”
PAC cable system originates in China and connects to Pakistan through the Morsi Shah gateway in Karachi’s upscale Defence (DHA) area, offering a massive 600 Gbps capacity.
PTA confirmed that other submarine cable networks are operated by state-run PTCL and private company Transworld Associates. PTCL manages three major submarine cables: AAE-1 (linking Africa, Asia, and Europe), SMW-4 (connecting Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe), and IMEWE (linking India, the Middle East, and Western Europe).
Landing stations for SMW-4 and IMEWE are located at Hawks Bay, while AAE-1 lands in Clifton, Karachi, making Sindh capital critical hub for nation’s digital connectivity.
As Pakistan grapples with both global and local network disruptions, millions of users remain offline or face severe slowdowns, raising urgent questions about the country’s digital infrastructure resilience.
Snapchat, Amazon go down as massive AWS outage shakes Internet
