AJK govt announces phased restoration of internet services

AJK govt announces phased restoration of internet services.

Key points

• Tariq Naqash Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 00am.
• Faisal Javed, president of the Association of Pharmacies and Medical Stores, remarked the suspension had severely disrupted electronic payments, leaving both traders and customers in difficulty.
• As well as Leepa Valley and Haveli district, under the schedule, full broadband and cellular data services will be restored in Neelum district, including Upper and Lower Neelum.
• Tariq Naqash is a Muzaffarabad-based senior staff correspondent for Dawn with almost three decades of experience in reporting, analysis, and feature writing.
• In Bagh district, broadband services will be available only to educational institutions and banks within the municipal limits of Bagh and Dhirkot.

Tariq Naqash Published September 1, 2026 Updated September 1, 2026 08: 00am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) administration has confirmed a phased restoration of internet services throughout the region, with broadband and cellular data services to resume fully in some districts while access will remain restricted to educational institutions and banks in others.

Meanwhile, the Home Department, in a notification issued on Sunday, directed the secretary of the Ministry of Interior to initiate restoration of broadband and cellular data services from Monday (Aug 31) according to a district-wise schedule. As well as Leepa Valley and Haveli district, under the schedule, full broadband and cellular data services will be restored in Neelum district, including Upper and Lower Neelum.

Broadband services will additionally be restored throughout Bhimber and Mirpur districts. In Muzaffarabad district, broadband access will be confined to educational institutions – schools, colleges and universities – and banks. The same arrangement will apply in Jhelum Valley.

In Bagh district, broadband services will be available only to educational institutions and banks within the municipal limits of Bagh and Dhirkot. Similarly, in Kotli district, broadband access will be restricted to educational institutions and banks, except in Sehnsa, Sarsawa and Tattapani where services will remain shut.

No internet services will be restored in Rawalakot and Sudhnoti districts, where the suspension will continue.

Bankers in the capital welcomed the restoration, saying it would ease pressure on branches that had been handling a heavy volume of customers in the absence of digital banking facilities.

Ordinary citizens, nevertheless, expressed disappointment over the limited scope of the restoration, particularly those dependent on the internet for their livelihoods.

Internet services were suspended throughout AJK on June 5 against the backdrop of a law and order situation after the government's decision to proscribe the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC). Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2026.

Tariq Naqash is a Muzaffarabad-based senior staff correspondent for Dawn with almost three decades of experience in reporting, analysis, and feature writing. His work focuses on politics, conflict, and governance. He can be discovered on X at @tariqnaqash.

Taken together, the developments around AJK govt announces phased restoration of internet services point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.