IT minister confirms cable damage behind Pakistan’s internet slowdown

Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima Khawaja confirmed on Monday that nationwide internet disruptions in Pakistan are the result of a submarine cable cut near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the minister said she was in contact with officials of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) regarding the situation. She acknowledged that the slowdown was affecting businesses and added that assessments were being carried out to evaluate the extent of the damage.

The disruption has impacted bandwidth capacity on two major undersea cable systems, SMW4 and IMEWE, which connect Pakistan to international networks. PTCL said alternative bandwidth arrangements had been made to minimise the effect, while global partners were working on restoration.

However, Shaza Fatima noted that international repair agencies had not yet provided a timeline for service recovery. “The nature of the cable damage is being reviewed,” she said.

The outage has also been reported in other Middle Eastern countries, including the UAE and Gulf states. Experts say nearly 70% of such incidents are caused by ship anchors. The Red Sea, where the damage occurred, is regarded as a vital global telecommunications corridor, but repairs there are technically complex and often prolonged.