Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has confirmed that telecommunication services, including mobile internet, had been suspended in seven districts of Balochistan on orders of Pakistan’s secret services Inter-services Intelligence (ISI)
PTA made the revelation in front of a Pakistani Senate standing committee on information technology that 3 districts of Balochistan are without telecom services since February 2017 as ISI has cited security reasons in these districts.
“Initially services were suspended in 7 districts but 4 have since been restored, leaving 3 still without any connectivity,” PTA’s acting chairman told the committee.
The districts without telecommunication services are Kalat, Awaran and Kech, where Baloch insurgency is at its peak. Mainly in Awaran and Kech, Pakistani security forces and pro-independence Baloch fighters battle on daily basis.
Analysts believe the main reason of such suspension is increased activism of Baloch activists on social media. “Though all other means of peaceful protest are barred in the resource-rich Balochistan, it is very difficult for the state to minutely monitor the world of internet,” a local political analyst told