Internet services in the popular tourist destination of Murree have remained completely suspended for the past 10 days due to regional security operations and ongoing unrest, leaving residents, tourists, and businesses in the hill station without connectivity for an extended and economically damaging period.
Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Shirazi confirmed that the prolonged digital blackout was triggered by the volatile security situation developing across nearby Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He explained that major telecommunication signal towers are physically installed directly along the geographical border separating Murree from neighbouring Kashmir territory, meaning the infrastructure serving both regions is closely interlinked at the network level. Because cellular networks and data services were officially deactivated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir as part of the security response, neighbouring Pakistani regions including Murree and Kotli Sattian suffered severe collateral technical disruptions despite not being the direct target of the suspension order.
The impact has been wide-ranging, with local residents, foreign tourists, commercial business owners, academic institutions, and government offices all facing significant operational challenges due to the total lack of connectivity. For a destination that depends heavily on tourism revenue and digital payment systems, an extended blackout of this length carries direct economic consequences beyond the inconvenience experienced by residents. Internet services have been suspended across Azad Jammu and Kashmir since June 8, severely disrupting the lives of students, freelancers, and ordinary citizens who depend on connectivity for education, remote work, and daily communication.
The disruption has forced many residents to travel outside Azad Jammu and Kashmir entirely to access basic online services, with people crossing into neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to complete urgent digital tasks unavailable at home. Ryan Khan, a student from Muzaffarabad, said he travelled to Garhi Habibullah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa just to submit documents online, and reported seeing dozens of other Azad Jammu and Kashmir residents who had made the same journey specifically to access internet services unavailable in their own towns. Khan urged authorities to restore internet access immediately, warning that the prolonged shutdown was threatening the academic future of students across the region who rely on connectivity for time-sensitive coursework, applications, and examinations.
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