ISLAMABAD (MNN); In an unusual development, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) announced on Wednesday that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and other Meta platforms may experience slow performance for 36 hours, starting shortly after midnight on December 11.
According to a customer advisory, PTCL said Meta services would face reduced speed from 1am Thursday to 1pm Friday due to planned maintenance work and technical upgrades by its engineering teams.
A PTCL spokesperson added that as the country’s primary internet backbone operator, the company had received complaints from users reporting sluggish speeds or intermittent outages on Meta applications.
However, Meta has not confirmed any such maintenance plans, nor has it clarified whether disruptions—if any—would affect all regions equally.
Interestingly, the Meta AI tool dismissed the circulating maintenance alert, stating it had no information about scheduled downtime or performance issues for Facebook, Instagram, or any other Meta service. It noted that while Meta does conduct routine maintenance, users should only trust announcements made through official Meta or Facebook Business channels.
Commenting on the viral notice circulating online, Meta AI cautioned that it resembled typical phishing or scam messages designed to look official. Users were advised to check Meta’s official status page or verified announcements and to avoid responding to suspicious SMS messages—especially those instructing recipients to text specific numbers to block messages.
Meta reiterated that routine maintenance is conducted to update backend systems, strengthen security, and improve overall service performance.
