Tech Desk 
Jul 17, 2024
Social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram and X — have become inaccessible to users almost across Pakistan.
Users from different parts of the country have reported an outage of Instagram, Facebook, and X — formerly known as Twitter.
Down Detector showed a surge in user complaints regarding accessibility of Facebook along with Instagram starting at 12am on Tuesday.
It should be noted that the Punjab government had sent a letter to the interior ministry on July 11 (Thursday), requesting the ban on social media platforms during Muharram 6-11.
The letter stated: “The Standing Committee of Cabinet on Law and Order, while discussing security and administrative arrangements for Muharram 2024 in its meeting on July 4, 2024, decided that social media platforms—Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, etc.—be suspended across the province of Punjab from the 6th to the 11th of Muharram, 2024 to control hate material/misinformation and to avoid sectarian violence.”
Read more: Internet in Pakistan — Will cellular services be down in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad on Ashura?
However, it was later clarified that no final decision had been taken by the federal government in this regard. Moreover, the Ministry of Interior said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will take the final decision on the matter.
The government had suspended cellular phone service across the country during the Muharram processions. The internet service will also remain suspended in areas along the route of the main processions during Youm-e-Ashura.
