Tech Desk 
Sep 07, 2025
An undated image. — Canva
Pakistan is facing another round of internet troubles after a submarine cable cut in Saudi waters near Jeddah disrupted connectivity on Saturday.
According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the fault has affected two major systems—SMW4 (South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4) and IMEWE (India–Middle East–Western Europe)—which play a critical role in bringing international bandwidth to the country.
What are SMW4 and IMEWE cables?
SMW4 and IMEWE are two international submarine cable systems connecting Pakistan to the global internet. SMW4 has several landing stations in multiple countries to provide high-capacity bandwidth.
IMEWE is an updated, three-fibre-pair submarine cable designed to transfer data quickly and provide redundancy. Any cut in the submarine cables, interruptions, or faults will directly affect the connectivity of Pakistan with the rest of the world.
For users, there will probably be service degradation, which means users will experience slow speeds and browsing issues, especially during peak hours. PTCL said that its international partners are already working on repairing the damaged cables, while local teams arrange alternative bandwidth routes to minimise service disruption.
Submarine cable cuts are behind connectivity issues
PTCL has assured customers that restoration efforts are some of the highest priorities for the company, but until the cables are repaired, internet speeds across the country will likely remain unstable.
A spokesperson for PTCL reminded customers to be patient, adding that underwater cable faults have historically been one of the recurring challenges of Pakistan's digital infrastructure.
Pakistan is heavily reliant on submarine cable systems for global connectivity. Recent frequent damage to the cables has raised questions over the reliability of Pakistan's internet connectivity for streaming video content, cloud services, and online businesses.
