Internet Outage Disrupts Mobile Networks and Banking Apps in Islamabad

A widespread internet and mobile connectivity disruption hit Islamabad and parts of Lahore on Sunday, September 27, affecting all major telecommunications providers and causing downstream failures across mobile banking and digital payment applications.

What Went Down

The outage affected Nayatel, PTCL, Jazz, Ufone, Zong and Telenor, leaving users across the capital without mobile data connectivity for extended periods.

EasyPaisa and JazzCash — Pakistan's two most widely used mobile wallet platforms, collectively serving tens of millions of users — both experienced service interruptions as a direct result of the network disruption. Social media platforms were also severely affected, with users across Islamabad and Lahore reporting difficulty accessing them.

The Context

Sunday's outage follows a government-ordered suspension of mobile phone and internet services that had been planned for Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Attock on September 26 and 27 to prevent PTI's September 27 long march from gaining coordination.

The Punjab Home Department had written to the Federal government and the Ministry of Interior requesting complete suspension of mobile phone and 3G/4G internet services in sensitive areas of Rawalpindi and Attock, along with downgraded signal speeds. Multiple media reports had confirmed the request was real, though no formal PTA order had been published as of Friday.

The pattern matches earlier protest-related mobile service disruptions across Pakistan, where authorities have repeatedly suspended connectivity — including during the November 2024 PTI protest and multiple episodes in 2025 — to limit real-time coordination and media coverage of marches.

The Practical Impact

For ordinary residents of Islamabad with no connection to the protest, the disruption meant an inability to access bank accounts, make digital payments, use ride-hailing services, call family members on mobile phones or access the internet in any form.

The EasyPaisa and JazzCash outages carry particular weight. Both platforms are primary financial tools for lower-income users who may not have traditional bank accounts and rely on mobile wallets for everyday transactions including utility payments, sending money to family members and receiving wages. A suspension of those services on a Sunday — when branches are closed — removes an important financial safety net.

Emergency calling is also affected during mobile signal suspensions. Calls to 1122 and 15 from mobile phones become unreachable when 2G signals, which carry voice, are jammed alongside data. A landline or Wi-Fi calling application on home broadband may retain connectivity, but many households in the affected areas rely entirely on mobile networks.

No Official Statement

As of the time of reporting, the cause of the disruption had not been officially confirmed and no timeline for service restoration had been announced by PTA or the federal government.

Authorities have not issued a statement on the outage. The pattern of simultaneous disruption across multiple operators — Nayatel, PTCL, Jazz, Ufone, Zong and Telenor all going down together — is consistent with a coordinated administrative suspension rather than a technical fault affecting multiple independent infrastructure providers simultaneously.

Pakistan has no formal legal requirement to notify affected citizens in advance of a mobile internet suspension, and PTA's role in practice has been to implement ministry directives rather than to independently assess or publish their legality.

Sources: TechJuice, 24 News HD, Pakera