Internet services disrupted for hours in Pakistan, flights cancelled

ISLAMABAD: Internet services were disrupted across Pakistan for about 38 hours due to a fault in the India-Middle East-Western Europe submarine cable, affecting flight services and other activities.

The Internet services were restored across the country today after the disruption caused by the fault in the undersea internet cable, a Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) spokesman said.

The disruption prevented airport officials confirming flight schedules and ticket bookings, as a result of which at least eight domestic and international flights at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport were cancelled earlier today, airport officials said.

Internet services were restored after the 38-hour-long disruption caused by a fault in the India-Middle East-Western Europe (I-ME-WE) submarine cable, the PTCL spokesman said.

A fault in the submarine cable caused consumers and businesses across Pakistan to experience major internet disruptions, with many customers complaining of slow browsing speeds.

PTCL Chief Business Development Officer Sikander Naqi told Dawn that the disruption was caused by cuts in a PTCL cable, but the company had succeeded in restoring internet services across the country.

"A cable was cut in Saudi Arabia near Jeddah yesterday morning," he said. "Experts initially thought the cut was under the sea but after a bit of research, they figured out that the cable that was cut is on land. It has now been repaired and services are back to normal."

"There are four PTCL cables, whereas private companies have two. Six cables are good enough for Pakistan. Unfortunately due to two cuts at the same time, service across the country was disrupted," he said.