On Sunday, mobile signals and internet access failed in Peshawar and in other cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with internet down in Peshawar leaving residents and journalists unable to communicate normally, TechJuice reported, citing the BBC and NetBlocks, a global internet monitor. Users said mobile data and Wi-Fi both went off. Wi-Fi was working again on Monday, while the status of mobile data was still uncertain.
What NetBlocks and the BBC reported
Late on Sunday, NetBlocks wrote on X that its network data showed a "major disruption to Internet connectivity in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa." The outage was not confined to Peshawar. TechJuice said other cities in the province were affected, and users found that mobile data and Wi-Fi failed together. The BBC's account, as carried by TechJuice, said the loss of mobile signals and internet in several parts of the province caused serious communication problems for citizens and journalists.
Authorities have not given a reason
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the regulator for phone and internet services, has not publicly explained this latest disruption. The interior ministry has not explained it either. Neither has said whether the suspension extended beyond the areas already reported. With no official account, residents have only the monitor's data and local reports to go on.
Last week's cutoff in Peshawar
A similar suspension was reported last week. Mobile phone and internet services remained off across large parts of Peshawar on Thursday, the day a long march led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was scheduled to reach the city. The suspension began on Wednesday night, and no public announcement was made when it started.
A PTA official confirmed to the media that the authority had acted on directives from higher authorities, TechJuice reported. The official said the measure was temporary and had been taken as a security precaution during the march, adding that the ministry's orders were conveyed on Wednesday night. Those comments refer to last week's suspension. They are not an official explanation of Sunday's disruption, which the PTA and the interior ministry have not addressed in public.
Where services stand now
People asking why internet is not working in Peshawar today will find only a partial update. Internet down in Peshawar on Sunday came with outages in other cities of KP; Wi-Fi began working again on Monday, and it is not clear whether mobile data has been restored. These accounts describe trouble in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and do not confirm a countrywide shutdown. Anyone still relying on a mobile connection, rather than Wi-Fi, has no confirmed word that data is back.
