KARACHI: Like other parts of the country, internet disruptions have plagued Karachi for the past three days, affecting day-to-day activities of everyone and causing financial loss to those dependent on online services.

Citizens report issues with WiFi and mobile data services as well as social media apps including Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. They are unable, or facing immense difficulties, to send pictures, voice notes, large files or upload videos.

The outages are linked to the ongoing protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters heading towards the capital, Islamabad, where barricades and blockages have worsened the situation.

Karachi, despite being a metropolitan city, still lacks an accessible transportation system, leading a large percentage of citizens to rely on online cab services.

This disruption has caused major frustration, particularly among students and professionals who are most affected.

Students, office-goers, online business owners and content creators share similar ordeal

“I commute daily from Saadi Town to I.I. Chundrigar Road using Bykea. It has been the most comfortable and affordable app for me so far. However, the internet disruptions have made it almost impossible to find a rider in the morning and even in the evening,” Aqdas Jaffar, an employee of a private company, told Dawn.

“This has been an absolute menace. What have common citizens done to deserve this? In the midst of political chaos, it is always the common man who suffers,” he added.

Neha, a 23-year-old student at Baqai Medical University, shares a similar concern.

“I cannot afford to miss my classes, of course, but commuting has become such a headache these days that I can’t even put it into words. I used to book a rickshaw at my desired rates every morning through inDrive, but with the current state of the internet, I now have to pay twice or sometimes even three times more than I used to. I’m afraid things are only going to get worse from here,” she said.

The other side of the coin is not much different. Riders face similar challenges, sometimes even worse, due to their heavy reliance on the wages they earn through these apps.

“I haven’t been able to receive even five rides since yesterday. If I accept a ride, either the map doesn’t work or the app crashes. It’s so frustrating, and I honestly don’t know when this will end,” said Khuda Baksh, a Yango driver.

Small business owners, content creators also suffer

The disruptions have been a huge setback for small business owners.

“As a small business owner, almost everything depends on the availability of the internet and social media,” Maham Tariq, owner of Mayhem Bakes, shared.

“From clients to vendors to contacting riders, the entire chain is disrupted due to these internet outages. This impacts my business, which is highly dependent on the internet,” she added.

Syed Talal Rizvi, who runs a brand called Attitude Apparel, shares a similar issue.

“The logistics of my business are completely disrupted. I cannot communicate with my customers properly, and my website has suffered significantly due to ads not functioning correctly. We also lost over 100,000 on Meta ads because they didn’t yield any results due to the issue,” he told Dawn.

Content creation is a niche currently booming in Pakistan, yet it has been facing serious repercussions due to constant internet disruptions.

Zia Tabarak of Street Food PK complains about not being able to upload content on time, and how it doesn’t perform well on social media apps on days like that.

“There is so much uncertainty in the air. My entire work depends on the availability of the internet, and on days like these, it is truly frustrating because it disrupts the entire content calendar. The vlogger community also loses brand deals due to such frequent interruptions. This is not okay, and it’s also harmful to the economy,” Zia shared.

Zarrar Khuhro, a veteran journalist, weighs in with his analysis of the entire situation and how it is going to unfold from here.

“I mean, we know this is the ‘new normal’, but here is the catch, there is nothing normal about this situation,” he commented.

“The authorities need to understand that economies cannot survive uncertainty. The entire business projection is based on constants, while we literally have only variables, and people don’t know what is going to happen the next day. This just adds to the reservoir of rage people have against the authorities,” he added.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2024