Almost every Pakistani knows about the sudden and essentially unannounced collapse of the internet in Pakistan. The country has at least 111 million internet users, which out of a population of 240 million makes it one of the countries with the highest Internet usage in the world. WhatsApp is an especially popular platform. The sudden disappearance of messages from this application and the inability in many cases to download attached material is affecting tens of thousands of people.

The impact of the sudden silence has not been investigated accurately enough. But it is quite acute. Freelancers are especially affected given that they can no longer send out work to companies overseas. Some companies offering work such as transcription to Pakistani freelancers have already pulled out, causing even more unemployment at a time when it is already at over six per cent because they cannot be sure of receiving documents and work on time and according to their strict schedules. This is in other words a disaster for many. We know that more and more Pakistanis have taken to freelance work given the shrinking space in the mainstream sector. Now this source of income is also disappearing.

Perhaps most disturbing is the fact that we have not been told why this is happening. Different versions have been provided by the PTA and the minister concerned for internet communication. Many suspect........

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