Pakistan has 100 million TikTok users, PTA tells lawmakers questioning poor connectivity

Pakistan has around 100 million TikTok users and 96 million YouTube users, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority Chairman Major General (retd) Hafeez ur Rehman told lawmakers on Tuesday, as they challenged officials over worsening telecom services and repeated internet disruptions.

Addressing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunications, Rehman said nearly 150 million videos were watched and uploaded on TikTok from Pakistan each day. YouTube viewers in the country watched about 560 million videos daily, he said, claiming Pakistan ranked first worldwide for YouTube video viewership.

He also said Pakistanis made millions of WhatsApp calls and exchanged millions of messages every day. MNA Syed Aminul Haque chaired the meeting at Parliament House, where members questioned delays in upgrading network infrastructure.

Federal Information Technology Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja told the committee that 18 million people were using 5G services as deployment extended across 24 cities. She attributed a substantial rise in data consumption to increased use of social media and artificial intelligence.

Khawaja said the government had acted to improve telecom services, citing spectrum auctions. She credited the previous Nawaz Sharif-led government with introducing 4G and said the current government had held the 5G spectrum auction.

Members nevertheless asked why connectivity remained poor after two and a half years of discussions with authorities. Ahmad Atiq said mobile networks barely worked in his constituency or along the route to Karachi, and complained that services seemed to worsen after each committee meeting.

Even WhatsApp calls in Islamabad frequently dropped, Atiq said. He questioned plans for wider 5G coverage while rural users struggled to obtain 3G connectivity, and requested details of fibre-optic infrastructure installed nationwide over the past two and a half years.

Asia Ishaq questioned declining 4G quality and asked whether lawmakers would need to turn to the Supreme Court to make operators improve their networks.

Rehman responded that he and telecom operators’ representatives had visited 41 districts to examine service quality and inspect towers. The PTA had instructed companies to improve, he said, explaining that show-cause notices were a last resort because operators often secured court stays against regulatory fines.

Khawaja said several factors disrupted services, including infrastructure theft. Entire mobile towers had been stolen in some areas, along with diesel and generators used to keep them running, she said. Members continued questioning the speed of infrastructure improvements and service quality despite the introduction of newer mobile technologies.