Recently, users across Pakistan have been facing various issues while using WhatsApp through mobile data.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued a statement regarding this matter.
PTA has attributed the disruption in WhatsApp services to a possible ‘technical glitch.’
On July 20, many WhatsApp users across Pakistan complained about difficulties in sending or receiving media files such as voice notes, photos, and videos while using mobile data.
Users reported that media files took excessively long to download or did not download at all.
Some users received a message from WhatsApp stating they needed to connect to Wi-Fi to download documents.
An estimated 52.3 million people in Pakistan use WhatsApp.
Many users continue to experience disruptions in WhatsApp services, and during the past 24 hours, monitoring platforms like Down Detector reported ongoing issues with the Meta-owned messaging app in Pakistan.
Private telecommunications services have also confirmed the issue.
A spokesperson for the mobile network Jazz told Geo Fact Check that the company had received reports of disruptions in WhatsApp.
The spokesperson added that they are reviewing the issue and are committed to providing uninterrupted services.
A representative from Telenor stated that the company had received complaints regarding WhatsApp in recent days.
The representative said they investigated the complaints and found that the issue was not on their end, and if it was a backend issue or from another source, it was beyond their control.
A spokesperson for Zong Pakistan mentioned that identifying the root cause of the issue is difficult but declined further comments.
However, PTA spokesperson Malahat Obaid denied any problems with WhatsApp.
She told Geo that “there is no issue with WhatsApp or any social media app at the moment; if anyone is facing problems, it might be due to a technical glitch.”
She did not clarify the nature of the technical glitch.
Bytes for All Pakistan, an organization working on digital rights, stated that an investigation into the WhatsApp issue is ongoing and a report will be released soon.
However, Osama Khalid, Director of the digital rights forum Bolo Bhi, suggested that the disruption in WhatsApp services might be a result of firewall installation.
He explained that the purpose of a firewall is to systematically block access to content on the internet, particularly social media. WhatsApp is often used to share evidence of election fraud and legal violations by the government, and thus it may be targeted by the firewall.
He further stated that the lack of transparency regarding the firewall system’s installation is a ‘criminal act.’