The Pakistan Citizen Portal has stopped accepting new complaints for nearly a week, as the government grievance platform moved into read-only mode around November 4. Users can still view their complaint history and previous records, but they cannot file new complaints through the mobile application. A notice inside the app says that the portal is temporarily in read-only mode because of a system upgrade and that normal services will resume once the upgrade is finished. The notice does not give an expected completion date, a progress update, or any information about alternative ways to file a complaint, and no restoration date has been announced.
The numbers behind the platform show how many people are affected. Previously published official figures put the number of registered users at approximately 4.76 million, with about 6.66 million complaints received and around 6.55 million recorded as resolved. The Android app has crossed five million downloads on Google Play. Information presented to the National Assembly showed that 6,285 government departments and 11,223 officials were linked to the system, which reportedly covers federal and provincial institutions, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and 86 Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad.
The portal was launched in October 2018 and gave citizens a direct route to register grievances about police, revenue, municipal services, utilities, and other public bodies. For many users, it reduced the need to visit government offices in person, and over time it became one of the more visible examples of digital governance in the country. The Ministry of Information reportedly circulated an announcement about the change on November 4, although the notice in the app does not say whether registered users received emails, text messages, or other direct communication before the restriction began. Reports of technical issues with the portal had also surfaced in 2025.
The read-only mode leaves several questions open, which the government has not yet addressed publicly. It is not clear whether officials can still process existing complaints while the public side of the app remains locked, whether deadlines for pending complaints or appeals are affected by the downtime, or what channel a citizen can use to file an urgent grievance during the upgrade. It is also unclear whether users will receive notice before normal services return. System upgrades are routine and often necessary for security and performance, but for now, millions of registered users cannot submit new complaints through the portal, and they have no date for when the facility will be available again.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
