On Tuesday and Wednesday, numerous social media users in Pakistan reported that Facebook was inaccessible on several internet service providers.
Many users on X claimed they couldn’t access Facebook, speculating whether it had been banned by the government, similar to X.
The Pakistan-based platform observer, Down Detector, showed a significant increase in user complaints about Facebook’s accessibility starting at midnight on Monday, with another surge at noon on Wednesday.
International observers like Netblocks did not report any such issues from Pakistan. Netblocks mentioned disruptions to Facebook in Bangladesh due to ongoing protests, but no similar reports were made about Pakistan.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, has a status dashboard for tracking issues with its platforms, but it indicated ‘No known issues’ for Facebook login.
The disruption coincided with Muharram 10, when thousands of processions commemorate the sacrifice of Imam Hussain (RA) across Pakistan. Strict security measures, including mobile signal suspensions, were implemented in various locations.
On July 4, the Punjab government proposed a ban on all social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook, from Muharram 6 to Muharram 11 due to security concerns, but the federal interior ministry rejected the request.