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As of Wednesday morning, there are 2,039 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan. Like elsewhere in the world, authorities are attempting several measures to contain the spread of the virus, including a partial lockdown and deployment of armed forces on the streets and in public places. Because the country’s health care facilities would not be able to keep up with the outbreak, the government is asking citizens to maintain social distancing and is running awareness campaigns on social media to emphasize the need to adopt precautions. The streets that were always swarmed with crowds, no matter the time of the day, are now empty.
But those who live in the former Federally Administered Tribal Area are largely unaware of the gravity of the situation. That’s because the internet was suspended there in June 2016 in the wake of an armed clash between security forces at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
FATA is a tribal region in northwestern Pakistan and had semi-autonomous status until May 2018, when it was merged with the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Though it is now technically part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two things haven’t changed: It’s still popularly known as FATA, and its people still do not receive the equal treatment they are entitled to under the Constitution of Pakistan. The internet that was shut down almost four years ago has not been restored, restricting people’s access to information even as the world deals with a pandemic.
As the coronavirus spreads across the world, the internet is a primary platform to share news and communicate precautions. Governments are using it to connect with their citizens, and people are using it to access (and demand) health care services for their communities. But the reality is very different for the 3.7 million residents of FATA.
In mid-March, a journalist from the Khyber region of FATA, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told me that most of the people in tribal regions have not heard of the term coronavirus, let alone know what it is about. “Most of the information that is being shared around the virus is online, and since the whole tribal area doesn’t have access to the internet, people are unaware,” he says, adding, “It’s not like we will not have cases of coronavirus, because I’m sure we have people roaming around the streets carrying it. They just wouldn’t know it.” As more people in Pakistan, including FATA, develop COVID-19, there will be a big chunk of the population that might not realize what is happening to their bodies and where to turn to for medical help.
https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/coronavirus-covid19-pakistan-internet-shutdown-fata.html
But those who live in the former Federally Administered Tribal Area are largely unaware of the gravity of the situation. That’s because the internet was suspended there in June 2016 in the wake of an armed clash between security forces at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
FATA is a tribal region in northwestern Pakistan and had semi-autonomous status until May 2018, when it was merged with the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Though it is now technically part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two things haven’t changed: It’s still popularly known as FATA, and its people still do not receive the equal treatment they are entitled to under the Constitution of Pakistan. The internet that was shut down almost four years ago has not been restored, restricting people’s access to information even as the world deals with a pandemic.
As the coronavirus spreads across the world, the internet is a primary platform to share news and communicate precautions. Governments are using it to connect with their citizens, and people are using it to access (and demand) health care services for their communities. But the reality is very different for the 3.7 million residents of FATA.
In mid-March, a journalist from the Khyber region of FATA, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, told me that most of the people in tribal regions have not heard of the term coronavirus, let alone know what it is about. “Most of the information that is being shared around the virus is online, and since the whole tribal area doesn’t have access to the internet, people are unaware,” he says, adding, “It’s not like we will not have cases of coronavirus, because I’m sure we have people roaming around the streets carrying it. They just wouldn’t know it.” As more people in Pakistan, including FATA, develop COVID-19, there will be a big chunk of the population that might not realize what is happening to their bodies and where to turn to for medical help.
https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/coronavirus-covid19-pakistan-internet-shutdown-fata.html
